


Nunca me Acuerdo de Olvidarte

by mariposaroja



Category: MotoGP RPF, Motorcycling RPF
Genre: AU, M/M, We met in a bar au, and then everything goes wrong, student Marc, teacher Dani
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2018-10-29 17:33:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 42,890
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10858767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariposaroja/pseuds/mariposaroja
Summary: Dani meets Marc in a bar, Dani takes Marc home. No problem there, right?Wrong.





	1. All the Right Moves

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, I have absolutely no self control but I'm in the middle of exams and I need something to take my mind off them! This was meant to be a very cruelly, cliff-hangery ending one-shot but I like the idea too much to limit it to one chapter. Hope you enjoy ♥
> 
> Title is the Spanish version of the Shakira song 'Can't Remember to Forget You' ;)

“You literally couldn’t be any more obvious if you tried.”

Dani’s head jerked as he turned to look at his brother, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, beer almost escaping his mouth at the shock. He composed himself enough to swallow. “What are you talking about? And I thought you were in the bathroom.”

Eric looked at him with a mixture of incredulity and amusement. “Yeah, I came back,” he said as if he couldn’t understand how the other man wouldn’t think that was a natural progression, “You just didn’t notice how long I’d been gone because you were too busy ogling that guy over there.”

Cheeks becoming increasingly hot, Dani arched an eyebrow, twirling the neck of his bottle with between his fingers. “I was not _ogling_ anyone.”

“I hate to break it to you but you so _were_. And I can’t say I blame you, he’s hot,” the younger man smirked, looking over his brother’s shoulders to where the other group of guys were congregated a couple of feet away. One of the parties, towering above practically all his friends, caught his eye momentarily and Eric, shameless as he always was, gave a little wave in return. Just as soon as their eyes met, they guy looked away, almost like a deer caught in headlights and said something to the guy sat next to him. The one his brother had his eye on.

Dani merely glowered, unsure as to what to say to that. He knew his brother always seemed to know him a little better than he probably would like.

“Go talk to him.”

“I’m not going to go talk to him.”

Eric decided he could push it now and risk Dani getting into a huff and bailing on him, or… he could just bide his time and see how the night played out. His brother, for all his… _propriety_ was certainly not as much of a good boy as he seemed after getting a couple of drinks in him and, well, the night was still young. “Fine. But stop moping so we can celebrate your last couple of days of freedom.”

He was just about to argue that his freedom wasn’t any more curtailed than it usually was but, for once, decided to just let it be. Eric was right, what better time to blow off a little steam?

 

“Five shots of tequila, please.”

Dani really should have known something was up when at that moment his brother suddenly got a brain wave that he had to excuse himself to go to the bathroom, back on his feet and briskly walking towards the stairs before Dani even had a chance to open his mouth. Eyebrow furrowed in confusion, but no longer wondering about the mystery that was the inner workings of Eric’s mind, he merely gave a shrug and took another sip of his beer. It wasn’t until his eyes casually wandered over to his rights just a _little_ bit (definitely not subconsciously looking for _him_ ) that Dani realised that _he_ was standing about a foot away for him at the bar. And he was looking at him.

“Hi,” the guy said casually, as if he weren’t the most attractive guy that Dani had seen in his entire life.

 _Don’t blush, don’t blush…_ “Hey.”

“So I think your friend might have the hots for my brother, which is absolutely hilarious because Alex is like the shiest person you’ll ever meet in your life.”

For a moment Dani had no idea what the guy was talking about, his brain working embarrassingly slow for someone who had a university degree and a masters, until it all suddenly made sense and he was surprised a light bulb didn’t flash above his head. “Oh, Eric! He’s my brother.

The guy cocked his head to the side, apparently studying him. “Yeah, I can see it. You’re hotter though.”

Dani was so thankful he hadn’t chosen that moment to take a sip of his drink because he definitely would have choked on it. “Thanks?”

“This is the part where you’re supposed to tell me I’m hotter than my brother too,” he laughed, completely unapologetic, and handed over a couple of notes to the bartender.

 _Jesus Christ, Dani. Could you act more like a 15 year old virgin?_ “Tell me which one your brother is and I might be able to tell you.”

The guy’s black eyes appeared to twinkle even more as he laughed to himself. “That one,” he pointed over at where the tallest of the group was sitting, thankfully not looking in their direction, “he’s taller than me and his eyes are nicer than mine but I think I’m prettier?”

“Too tall for me anyway,” Dani smirked, “And yes, you are prettier. Happy?”

“Escatic,” the other man grinned, all sparkly white teeth, “I guess I should probably introduce myself now that you’ve told me how beautiful I am… I’m Marc.”

Dani all too willingly shook the outstretched hand. “Hey, I never used the world ‘beautiful’. And I’m Dani.”

“Pff… From the amount of times I caught you looking at me tonight it’s implied.”

For a moment he couldn’t believe just how confident this guy was, especially given the fact that he still looked quite young- twenty two or twenty three maybe. “Wow, cocky much? Maybe it was your brother I was looking at?”

The bartended handed Marc back his change, which he pocketed, before setting five shot glasses filled to the brim with tequila down in front of him and moving on to serve another customer. “I hope not, he’s too young for you. And probably your brother for that matter.”

“Yeah,” Dani really couldn’t deny that, the guy looked barely old enough to _be_ in a bar; never mind be _picked up_ in a bar, “I’m pretty sure Eric was doing it to annoy me. He has this crazy idea that I might have had my eye on you…”

“That is crazy,” he agreed, smirk never leaving his face.

“Indeed.”

“Well, since I came _all the way over here_ -“

“ _All the way_ over to the bar? Where they keep the alcohol?” Dani cringed internally at how much of a cliché he was, half twisted in the guy’s direction, chin rested on his hand… But hey, if it worked.

Marc nodded. “All the way. I think it’s only polite that you have a drink with me, no?”

Dani grimaced at the shot that was pushed towards him. “I would hardly call that having a drink. If you wanted to talk to me maybe you should have picked something that lasts a bit longer than one swallow…”

“Ha! This is just to get you loosened up, then you can get us something that lasts much longer?”

 _Abso-fucking-lutely_.

 

“Oh _hello_.”

Dani didn’t need eyes in the back of his head to tell that his brother was currently wearing a shit eating grin, rolling his eyes as Eric draped an arm over his shoulder. “Marc, this is my _incredibly annoying_ brother, Eric.”

Completely unfazed by the whole thing, Marc stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. I’m glad my brother finally plucked up to-“

“Okay, Eric, _okay_.”

“All right! Fine,” the youngest Pedrosa sibling held up his hands, “I was just going to tell you that I’m going to head home, if that’s okay? I’ll catch up with you tomorrow. Or… the day after.”

Before Dani could get a word in, Eric had grabbed his jacket and clapped him on the back. He headed for the door, but not before winking at Alex, who had been looking their way again.

“What did I do to deserve being related to him?”

“I can’t pass much judgment to be honest, in my family the roles are definitely reversed.”

“Oh,” Dani scrunched up his nose comically, “maybe it is your brother that I should be after so.”

Raising his eyebrows as he took another sip of his beer, Marc couldn’t help but feel proud of how the older man shifted in his seat when his tongue darted out to catch a drop that threatened to trickle down his face. “Like I said, way too young for you.”

Dani suddenly found that he couldn’t manage a reply to that; he was too busy being caught up on wondering how the fuck this guy could casually walk into a bar and just demand one thousand percent of his attention with just one look. Despite his brother’s infinite attempts, he’d never gone home with someone he met in a bar. In fact, it had become a bit of a running joke between the two of them; they would go out, Eric would point out every good looking guy in the place, Dani would roll his eyes, they would have a couple of drinks, and they would go home. Every now and then he would be abandoned in favour of some brunette or blonde or redhead, but Dani never really cared too much.

But now… now was a completely different story. Those dark eyes, those lips, that _mouth_ … Dani wanted it all and he wanted it badly. And somehow this guy, _Marc_ , seemed to want him too. This time he really wasn’t going to say no, if he wasn’t the one making the proposition.

“Yeah, I guess it’s a good thing that it’s not him I’m into then.”

“Tell me, _Dani_ , just how into me would you like to be?”

 _You have no fucking idea._ The guy was bold, Dani had to give him that. Never before had he seen anyone ooze sex like Marc did, where every word that fell from his lips sounded as if could be a _double entendre_ , and if he didn’t stop it soon he wasn’t sure he would be able to keep himself from pulling the taller man into the alley out back and fucking him then and there. “As into you as you’ll let me be,” Dani admitted, completely unashamed.

Humming around the top of his bottle, the corners of Marc’s mouth tugged upwards as he swallowed again. “Sounds like we’re both on the same page then.”

“I really fucking hope so.”

“Do you think it’s really rude to leave my brother and friends even though we’ve only been here like an hour?”

Dani wondered in what universe the guy thought he was actually going to say yes to that. “I’m sure they’ll live, they can keep each other company.”

Finishing his bottle of beer, the younger man placed it firmly down on the counter. “And then _we_ can keep each other company too- how does that sound?”

“Sounds perfect to be honest.”

“Great, just give me one minute then…”

Watching Marc walk away for a moment, Dani found that he was finally able to catch his breath. He scrubbed at his face, lowering his head for just a second in a shake of disbelief, smile never leaving his face. One last gulp had his bottle of beer finished and, embarrassingly eagerly, pulled on his jacket, risking a glance over his shoulder to find that there were four pairs of eyes firmly fixed on him. Unsure of what to do, Dani gave a little wave, that one plucked right from the Eric Pedrosa playbook in attempt to make him look someway smooth. It probably didn’t work and it definitely didn’t matter.

There were a couple of catcalls (the perpetrators finding themselves on the receiving end of a not so polite gesture), and before Dani knew it Marc had returned to his side once more, coat draped over his arm. “Ready to go.”

“ _So_ ready.”

 

The cab back to Dani’s apartment wasn’t the most comfortable of experiences. The older man, who had been in a near constant state of arousal since the guy spoke his first word to him, was not one for bringing guys he’d just met home to fuck and he most certainly was not one for being all over them in the back of a taxi on the way there. Marc, helpful as he was, broke the awkward silence by making small talk about the previous night’s football, his hand remaining high up on Dani’s thigh all the while. Dani was just glad that the journey didn’t take that long, or else that had would be a serious liability.

Trying to maintain as much class and decorum as possible, Dani paid the driver while Marc vacated the vehicle, giving the guy his thanks before quickly hurrying after the younger man, who was now leaning up against the front door of the apartment building like a model who had just stepped out of a magazine. The tiniest part of Dani secretly hoped that it would open unexpectedly and he would fall over, because no one should be able to be that smooth. It just wasn’t fair on everyone else.

And, annoyingly, he didn’t move when Dani went to key in the code to open the door, meaning their bodies were soon pressed up against each other as he manoeuvred to reach it. Shooting him a dirty look, Dani betrayed his true thoughts on the matter by pressing his knee _strategically_ between Marc’s thighs, smirking at the little groan that elicited.

“Fuck, you’re evil.”

“Don’t give it if you can’t take it.” The door clicked and Dani pushed it open, giggling as Marc almost lost his balance and dragged them over the threshold.

“Your apartment better not be on like the 10th floor because I really don’t think I can keep my hands off you.”

“Third, is that okay with you?”

Hands still bunched up in the other man’s shirt, Marc smirked. “Third is fine.”

 

Dani fumbled with the key to his apartment, unable to think properly with that guy pressed so close to his back, breath tickling the back of his neck. Marc pressed little butterfly kisses to the patch of skin beneath his hair line, and the small man really couldn’t keep himself from dropping the keys when he nipped him.

“Amateur, get out of the way,” he laughed, nudging Dani so that he could reach the keys and let them in so that they could get this show on the road. He did just that, swinging the door open with a smug smile which Dani didn’t waste any time in kissing off his face as he back Marc up against the door, only a little bit sorry when there was a little thud where the other man’s head hit the wood. Still, he didn’t seem to be complaining.

Their mouths continued to collide as Marc grabbed a fistful of Dani’s collar, hauling him backwards and kicking the door shut. “Lights,” he managed to get out between kisses and Dani was tempted to leave them off to save time. He probably would have if it weren’t for the fact that they would probably trip over a shoe that would land them both in the hospital. Dragging Marc with him, Dani finally found the switch, thankful when the place illuminated that he was a tidy kind of person. Not that they would be spending much time anywhere but the bedroom.

Cock already hard, Dani ripped the shirt off from over Marc’s his head, tossing it away without a second thought. He stopped them when they reached the doorway to his room, backing the younger man up against the frame.

“What-“ Marc never got to finish that sentence because, before he knew what was happening, Dani’s tongue was tracing one of his nipples and _fuck_ if that didn’t feel incredible. “ _Dani_.”

“Hmm?” he enquired, sending vibrations across the soft skin.

“If I’m not on my back on your bed soon I swear I’m going to- _agh_.”

Getting revenge for earlier, Dani nipped at the sensitive skin, but was more than happy to roll with the other man’s suggestions anyway. He let up, linking Marc’s fingers with his and pulling him into his room, letting go only when Dani went to turn on the lamp and Marc flopped down on the bed, laughing away to himself.

“Wow, goose feather…”

Okay, so maybe his bed was a little bit puffy. “It’s comfortable.”

“Yeah, if you like being poked by a million needles in your sleep.”

Arching an eyebrow, Dani folded his arms across his chest. “You objecting to sleeping here so?”

Undoing the button of his jeans like the tease he was, Marc shook his head. “Nah. I’m not a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guy.”

“Fine by me.” Once Marc had rid himself of his pants, Dani settled in between his legs, trying his hardest to focus his attention on the man and not just the bulge straining against his boxers. Their lips met again, less desperate this time and more just enjoying the moment, and Dani allowed his hands to wander, cupping Marc through the thin fabric before dipping his fingers beneath the band when that elicited the most delicious of moans.

“ _Fuck_. Dani, I want you to fuck me because I seriously don’t think I’m going to be able to last long.”

 _Eager_. “No foreplay?”

“The only foreplay I need is your fingers inside of me.”

 _Oh wow. Okay then._ “I guess that you better get rid of those so…” He plucked the elastic material, smirking when it flew back against the sensitive skin and Marc whimpered. The guy did just that though, pulling off his socks and boxers while Dani began the process of shedding his clothes.

“Lube and condoms?”

“Top drawer on the right.”

Things moved swiftly from there, Marc turning over onto his stomach in anticipation as Dani squeezed a generous amount of lube onto his fingers, making sure that the other man was ready before pressing one digit inside him. Marc was unbelievably tight and Dani couldn’t help but fantasise about how it would feel to finally be inside him as he began to stretch him, adding another finger and then finally another when he was sure he could take it. Beautiful obscenities fell from the younger man’s lips as Dani’s fingers brush against his prostate and that was enough for Marc to plead with him to replace his fingers with the real thing.

He was only too willing to oblige. Pulling on the condom, wrapped discarded on the floor, he lined himself up with Marc’s entrance, double checking that he was good to go instead of just jumping in. The younger man, while grateful that Dani wanted to make sure that he was fully consenting, was frustrated to the point of growling a ‘ _just fucking do it_ ’ that, thankfully, was laughed off. Finally pushing inside him, slowly but firmly, Dani squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to stop himself from coming from that sensation alone. It had been a while, and boy had he forgotten how amazing it felt.

Marc, right in line with what Dani had come to expect of him, was eager for things to progress; the older man was barely fully inside him when he was begging him to _move_ , and needless to say Dani didn’t need to be told twice. He rocked into him, fingertips digging into Marc’s hips so hard that he was sure that there would be 10 bruises there in the morning. The younger man gave as good as he got, pushing back against him in perfect timing until Dani was on the edge and reached forward to pump Marc’s cock, him coming first and the tensing prompting Dani to follow right behind him a matter of seconds later.

Marc’s knees gave way and Dani tried his best not to hurt him as the fell forward, still close as they could possibly be, gasping for breath as he rested his cheek against the younger man’s back.

For a moment Dani’s hearing went all fuzzy, so he barely caught Marc thanking him for the best fuck that he’d apparently ever had. He didn’t hesitate in doing the same, waiting just a moment or two longer before pulling out and knotting the condom, expertly tossing it into the waste bin on the other side of the room.

Marc, who appeared to be completely boneless, twisted his head towards the older man, eyebrow arched in amusement. “You’re way too good at that…”

“Oh… No, when I was in university my friends and I used to procrastinate before exams by having a competition to see who could get scrunched up balls of paper into the bin from the furthest point of the room.”

 _Right_. “Did you win?” he asked, unable to keep the amusement from creeping into his voice because, really, this was the weirdest post-orgasm talk he’d ever had.

“Nope. Well, like once. But it does mean that I have a better than average shot.”

Okay, that was it. Marc really couldn’t help himself from laughing at that, head falling forward against the pillow, muffling the sound.

“Hey,” Dani fake-pouted, poking him in the back, “don’t laugh at me after I’ve just fucked you.”

“ _Go to sleep you fucking nerd_.”

Unable to keep from laughing at the other man’s (barely decipherable) words, Dani did as he was told and plopped down on the pillow opposite his guest. So maybe this had been a very unexpected turn of events, but he would be the first one to thank Eric in the morning.


	2. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your response so far ♥ Next chapter is where the story really starts to kick in ;)

Dani awoke the next morning to the feeling of the bed and covers jostling. Cracking one eye open in confusion, it all came back to him _very_ quickly when he saw a very naked Marc escaping from the bed. An uncomfortable feeling settled into his stomach before he realised that, yeah, that was how this goes. _Bang, bang, goodbye_.

“What time is it?” The younger man almost jumped at a foot into the air at that and Dani probably would have laughed were it not for the fact that he was still more than half asleep.

“I think it’s around five? Sorry, I was trying not to wake you but I have to go to the bathroom…”

 _Oh. So you’re not leaving then?_ “Right. Well it’s over there…” he grumbled, voice scratchy from sleep, not even bothering to point him in the right direction.

“Yes, Dani,” the Greek god who was inexplicably still in his room laughed, “I can see it from here. Go back to sleep.”

Not bothering with a reply, Dani did as he was told, his eyelids fluttering shut again only a moment before he drifted off, snuggling contentedly into his duvet.

 

When he woke again the roles were reversed. Marc was peacefully slumbering beside him while he slipped out from underneath the covers and padded to the bathroom, scrubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. It wasn’t until he was on his way back that he noticed it was substantially darker than when he’d been woken by Marc earlier and realised that the younger man had probably taken the time to close the blinds and curtains that they’d neglected to the previous night. Smiling at that, Dani climbed back into the bed, scooting closer to the centre to steal some of Marc’s warmth.

He wasn’t sure if the other man was genuinely asleep or awake and just fucking with him because Marc’s ass pushed back against his crotch and suddenly he was half hard and in sweet misery. Deciding that two could play that game, Dani draped one arm over Marc’s front, moving again so that they were flush against each other.

“That better be a promise,” the younger man muttered and, okay, so he had been asleep if the scratchiness of his voice was anything to go by.

Completely mortified, Dani bit down on his bottom lip and removed his arm, enabling Marc to turn around and face him. “Sorry, but it’s kinda your fault you know. You and that ass of yours.”

“It’s okay, I’m not offended that I make you hard. Far from it actually.”

“Well, I’m glad we cleared that one up,” Dani began to laugh, but soon laughter was the last thing on his mind as Marc shuffled even closer, lip bitten as he studied the older man for a moment before closing the distance between their mouths. Instinctively, Dani’s hand went to Marc’s hair for leverage as they kissed, so soft and so unlike the night before but just as good nevertheless. Catching the younger man’s lip between his teeth, he silently asked permission that was only too willingly granted as Marc began to kiss him with increasing intensity.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Dani realised that you probably weren’t supposed to kiss someone you’d just meet like 12 hours ago like this; it was supposed to be rushed and clumsy and… not this _good_. But yet it was _good_ , so much more than good.

“Up for another round?”

“You sure _you’re_ up for another round?”

“Hmm, I’ll live I’m sure,” Marc grinned, hand creeping into dangerous territory.

“Round two it is then…”

****

It took Marc like five minutes of scouring every inch of Dani’s bedroom for his shirt for him to realise that particular item of clothing never made it that far in the first place. Rubbing his hair with the towel one last time before tossing it into the laundry basket, Marc made his way towards the kitchen area where the older man was cooking breakfast if the smell that made his stomach grumble was anything to go by. By the time he got there Dani was serving up waffles onto two plates on the counter, a bowl of chopped up bananas accompanying them.

“Wow, you really are the perfect guy.”

Laughing at the fact that the younger man was making heart eyes at his handiwork, Dani made sure that the waffle iron was turned off before sitting up on one of the bar stools, inviting Marc to join him.

“So…” the younger man, moaning as he swallowed a mouthful of waffle, “Thanks for last night. And this morning, I guess.”

 _Surely you’re not blushing_ now _._ “Uh, you’re welcome? I probably should thank you too, can’t remember the last time I had sex as good as that.” _Here we are, discussing our night of debauchery over waffles…_

“Yeah, I wasn’t kidding when I said it was the best sex I’ve ever had. You really should think about going pro,” the younger man winked, earning a snort from Dani.

“No thanks, I think I’ll stick to the day job and keep _that_ as a… hobby.”

“Oh yeah? And what would the day job be?”

Dani was just about to answer that when Marc’s phone began to buzz on the counter, eliciting a sigh from the man in question before he picked it up and rejected the call. It was only then that he saw that he had 12 unread texts.

Alex: Please tell me you’re okay, do I need to call the police?

Watching as the other man burst into (very loud and very distinctive) laughter, Dani arched an eyebrow. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah. Everything’s fine. Just my brother wondering if I’m okay and if he needs to call the police.”

The older man almost choked on a piece of banana at that, his coughing prompting Marc to hit him on the back once or twice. “I hope not?”

“Yeah, I guess I better tell him that I’m alive. Wouldn’t want him to tell our mother that I’m on the missing list…”

Definitely understanding what he meant by that, Dani chuckled; he was closer to 30 than to 20 and his mother would still have the search and rescue out scouring the wilderness for him despite the fact that he lives on the outskirts of Barcelona. “You should probably do that. I don’t fancy being taken in for questioning in relation to a disappearance.”

“I’m sure you’d have a nice mugshot if it’s any consolation?”

“Thanks, that’s the nicest compliment anyone has ever paid me.”

“You’re welcome,” Marc winked, typing out a reply to his brother.

Marc: I’m alive, don’t worry! Just having some breakfast and I’ll be home soon

Alex: You better be. Next time you do that at least give me the guy’s name so I can be of some help to the police when you are declared missing…

Marc: His name is Dani and you are watching too many episodes of _Criminal Minds_. I’ll see you soon

“Sorry about that. Guess I probably should get going soon…”

 _Yeah, that’s probably what’s supposed to happen here_. Feeling strangely nervous given how they’d spent the previous night and a good portion of the morning, Dani chewed on his lip. “Uh, of course you can say no if you’d prefer not to but… could I possibly get your number?”

Thankfully, the younger man seemed more than okay with that. “Absolutely. Here,” he unlocked his phone again and handed it over, “save yours.”

With slightly shaky hands, Dani keyed in his number, just saving it under ‘Dani’ when he saw that Marc had no other Danis in his phone. He contemplated adding in something to enable him to remember who exactly he was but decided to take his chances. Once it was done, he handed the phone back over and Marc obviously pressed ‘call’ as his phone began to ring.

“There,” Marc said triumphantly, “Now you have mine too.”

Before he knew it, the younger man was picking up his plate to put it into the dishwasher and Dani told him to leave it, a little bit taken aback by how quickly the turnaround was. Marc did as he was told, thanking him for breakfast and soon they were sharing a quick, and slightly awkward, waffle flavoured kiss on by the front door. “Text me,” was all he said before leaving, Dani promising that he would.

He stepped back into his apartment, marvelling at how quiet it was now that the human whirlwind that was Marc was no longer there. It was only then that Dani remembered just why he hated one night stands- sure, it was very fun at the time but afterwards… afterwards it just felt empty. Trying to push that thought as far to the back of his mind as possible, Dani headed for a shower.

****

Unsurprisingly, once he was out and fully dressed once again, he found that he had received a couple of texts from his brother. Throwing himself down on the couch, Dani unlocked his phone and started scanning through them.

Eric: So… how did it go?

Eric: I take it since you’re not replying that you’re either asleep or he’s still there??

Eric: Come on Dani, I’m dying here!

_Jesus christ._

Dani: I was in the shower, he left like half an hour ago. It was pretty fantastic to be honest

Eric: I knew it!! You could just tell that he would be a firecracker

Eric: I’m happy for you, you needed a good fuck

Groaning, Dani let his head fall back against the armrest of the couch, wondering how two children from the same family could be so different.

Dani: Thanks? Don’t know what to say to that tbh…

Eric: Is there any possibility of it happening again? Or was it strictly a one night thing?

Dani: Don’t know if it’s going to happen again but I asked for his number and he was happy to give it to me so…

Dani: Definitely wouldn’t mind it happening again though

Eric: Sounds like he’s interested? You should definitely go for it

 _Maybe I will_. There certainly didn’t appear to be any reason not to if Marc was up for it too.

Dani: Hmm. I’ll probably text him later on and take it from there

Eric: You better! If you don’t I’ll just pester you until you do (:

Dani: I suppose telling you to but out is futile?

Eric: Pff, of course. This is what brothers are for

Dani: Pretty sure it’s not but okay…

****

Marc: I think I’m going to be teased mercilessly by my brother and friends for the rest of my life…

He’d been just drifting off to sleep while watching the Formula 1 highlights on tv when his phone buzzed on his chest. Thinking it was Eric, attempting to torment him again, Dani rolled his eyes as he picked it up, almost dropping it again when he saw that the name wasn’t his brother’s…

Now fully awake, he sat up straight, mentally chastising himself because it was _just a text message_. Seriously, get a grip.

Dani: Because of last night?

He didn’t have to wait long at all for a reply.

Marc: Yep! I’ve almost had to leave the group chat… Only so many times I can tell them to find their own fucking business (:

Dani: If it’s any consolation I’ve had the third degree too?

Marc: It is a bit. So worth it though ;)

Dani: Yeah, I agree!

Marc: Though sitting down was the *tiniest* bit difficult #bottomlife

Dani: #Bottomlife?? Really? And I warned you!

Marc: Jajajaja like I said: WORTH IT

Marc: Are you in for the night or are you going out on the prowl again? ;)

Dani: In for the night and I was NOT out on the ‘prowl’. You approached me, remember?

Marc: So you really wouldn’t have talked to me if I hadn’t come to you?

Dani: Probably not to be honest… I’m not in the habit of picking people up in bars

Marc: Definitely glad I went for it so ;) If you’re in for the night does that mean you’re free to chat?

Dani: I’m really glad you did too honestly. Absolutely

Marc: Great ;)


	3. Alarm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)

Dani: So…

Marc: So?

Dani: Just wondering if you would maybe like to go to dinner with me

Marc: Yeah, I’d like that. When?

Dani: Really? I was thinking next Friday or Saturday? Can’t really do any time before then

Marc: Yes, really. Has my conduct not made it clear that I’m interested in you? ;)

Marc: Friday? That’s fine because I can’t really do it before then either

Dani: A little bit but I didn’t want to assume ;) Friday sounds perfect. Any preferences as to where we go?

Marc: Surprise me? I really don’t mind, just text me the address when you decide and I will meet you there :)

Dani: Great, I’m sure I’ll think of somewhere. Should we say about 8?

Marc: 8 is perfect. So...

Dani: So? ;)

Marc: I guess you could say this is a date?

Dani: It’s absolutely a date. If that’s okay with you?

Marc: That’s absolutely fine with me. But you should know that I don’t put out on the first date ;)

Dani: Oh, so it’s just the pre-first date that you put out on so?

Marc: Fucker! ;) Tbh even if I decided not to put out it would probably still happen because last time= amazing

Dani: You do know that I didn’t ask you just for sex right? I wouldn’t mind not having sex, I just want to get to know you better. Even if last time was amazing

Marc: I know :) I’m looking forward to getting to know you better too x

****

The blaring of the alarm on his bedside locker was a bit of a shock to the system on Monday morning. While he should have been asleep early in order to make getting up in the morning that little bit easier (although did anyone ever wake up feeling well-rested at seven o’clock?), he found that he just couldn’t, which led to texting Marc until close to one in the morning. Their messages, although beginning as a debate as to who was the greatest MotoGP rider of all time, eventually became very not safe for work- so much so that Dani cringed as he flicked through them. He couldn’t say that it wasn’t worth it though.

Finally managing to pull himself out of bed, he jumped in for a quick shower before spending a little bit too much time on his hair, that meaning that he had to grab his breakfast to go. It didn’t really matter, he was probably too much of an anxious mess to sit still anyway. It was about a half an hour car ride to his new workplace so Dani turned up the radio, singing along with the tunes very badly in an attempt to loosen up.

It seemed to work and Dani arrived in the car park feeling considerably more confident. After all, this wasn’t his first rodeo; he’d done this all before, surely it wouldn’t be any different this time? He’d timed it to perfect, arriving just before the masses began to trickle in. The whole thing was daunting enough without hundreds of pairs of eyes on him, all speculating as to who he was.

Grabbing his shoulder bag from the back, Dani locked the car and took a deep breath before heading for the visitor’s entrance, hoping to god that there was someone there to let him in so he wouldn’t be left standing around. As luck would have it, there was; a woman in her late forties with a kind but inquisitive smile sat behind the counter, greeting him enthusiastically and enquiring as to what she could help him with.

“Uh, hello. I’m Dani Pedrosa-“

“Ah! The newbie! Well, let me be the first to welcome you, I’m Catarina,” she stood and shook his hand through the window in the glass, “I’m sure you’re going to love it here.”

“I hope so,” he admitted in all sincerity, “Is there anything I need to do before 9 o’clock?”

Catarina laughed, remaining standing with her hands pressed against the counter, “Relax? Although I would strongly recommend you do that, I’m sure the head would like to meet with you. I’m sure in the interview he gave you a good feel for the place but just to run through all the housekeeping… I’ll take you up there now if that suits you?”

“That would be great thanks.”

****

Dani supposed, to some, Alberto Puig may have appeared an intimidating man. In some ways he was, but he was also incredibly helpful and had been since Dani’s first round interview for a sudden opening in the Science department. Until the end of last term he’d been working in an ESO near his home town of Sabadell and it had been a lot of fun and very rewarding but it had always been his aim to teach in Batxillerat; which is why, although he was nervous, he’d never been so excited about starting a job before.

Once he and Alberto had finished going through everything worth mentioning, the older man showed him to his classroom, which was much better equipped than he remembered. He supposed it would have to be, given that biology was as much a practical subject as it was theoretical.

“Well, make yourself at home. Somewhere in the desk should be a know-how manual on where everything is kept and how the gas works. Please familiarise yourself with it because I really want to avoid another incident like one two years which resulted in us having to completely gut the room…”

Dani imagined it was something that could happen very easily with just a little bit of carelessness. “I’ll be sure to do that,” he would have laughed but he wasn’t sure how much the Head would appreciate that.

“Good. Well, get yourself settled and enjoy the quiet for a bit before everything gets very loud and very busy. If you need anything just give me a shout. I’m sure the other teachers would also be more than willing to lend a hand with anything you may need.”

Nodding, the new teacher gave his thanks to his boss, who then excused himself and left Dani to his own devices. Risking a look at the clock on the wall behind him, Dani was more than a bit relieved to find that he had half an hour before his first class would start and decided he better have a look for that handbook. The last thing he needed on his first day was to report an accident to Alberto. Before he got to any of the good bits (although it was a _scintillating_ read throughout…), he found himself distracted by his phone vibrating, picking it up and discarding the manual without a second thought.

Marc: You’re starting your new job this morning, right? Just wanted to say good luck! Not that you need it ;) xx

Chastising himself for how ridiculously wide his smile was, Dani quickly typed a reply.

Dani: I am :/ Thanks! I’m kinda nervous but excited at the same time

Marc: You have nothing to worry about, just give them that smile and they’ll be eating out of the palm of your hand ;)

Dani: You mean my maniac smile?

Marc: That’s the one, they’ll be too afraid to question you…

Dani: Sounds like a good idea. I might try that so ;)

Dani: Friday seems like forever away :/

Marc: I know :/ But it’s not really that far away and we’ll get to see each other again soon :) x

Dani: Can’t wait ;) Text you later on? x

Marc: Me neither ;) And yes! Enjoy your first day x

Chuckling to himself for no reason in particular, Dani finally managed to put down his phone and actually do some preparation for the class that would be starting in about five minutes. For a moment he awkwardly considered the strategy of sitting down versus standing up, ultimately deciding that the latter would make him appear more authoritative. Locating a whiteboard marker, Dani tapped it against his hand a couple of times while staring the blank surface. These were first years, right? One quick check of his schedule confirmed that was correct and he chewed on his lip for a moment longer before scrawling a single question on the board.

_What is biology?_

****

His first class went remarkably well, it really should have been obvious that pattern couldn’t continue…

Dani cheerfully bid farewell to 1A as they filed out the door after a rather successful introductory lesson. The difference between students doing the ESO and batxillerat students was obvious, and he was very happy to find that that extra bit of maturity meant that he could actually have a discussion with his students rather than standing there talking at them for the entirety of the class.

Looking forward to beginning his next lesson, confidence increasing by the minute, Dani smiled as the next group of first years filed into the room. He hadn’t expected however, to be completely thrown for a loop.

At first the familiarity caused the teacher to squint, trying to ascertain just how he knew that boy, because he was absolutely certain that he _did_ know him. It wasn’t until he looked up at Dani and their eyes met, the younger man looking like a deer caught in headlights, that it hit him with a bang. _OH MY GOD._

The shock must have been glaringly obvious to all present so Dani tried his absolute hardest to hide the fact that he was kinda freaking out on the inside. Just a little…

_Jesus christ. Marc really wasn’t kidding when he said that you were too young for me…_

The boy (Alex?) made no attempt to mask the blind panic that was there on his face for the world to see and Dani couldn’t really say he blamed him; if one of his teacher’s had seen him drinking in a bar when he was in school then he would undoubtedly have had the same reaction. But Dani figured that he had a lot more to worry about than the younger man did; he had quite clearly slept with Alex´s brother and that… well, _that_ was unbelievably awkward.

Deciding that they were probably drawing a little too much attention to themselves, Dani gave the boy an awkward smile before clearing his throat and calling the class to attention. The sooner they all got out of there the better. He could decide how to deal with this later on, maybe with Marc’s help? Praying to any god that would listen that Marc hadn’t told him any… _details_ , Dani got on with the lesson.

****

Dani had hoped that he could speak to the boy after class, just to dispel any awkwardness between them, but Alex was out the door like a shot, not even casting a glance in his teacher’s direction in the process. And, okay, he could understand that. So, while he was waiting for his last class before his free period to arrive, Dani pulled out his phone, figuring that Marc at least would get a kick out of this even if he and Alex didn’t.

Dani: So, funny story… It turns out that your brother is in my class? :/

He had just been on the cusp of pressing send when his next class began to file in, his attention drawn to the door by the sound of a very loud laugh. A laugh that ceased the moment Dani looked up and locked eyes with its owner, mocha meeting a _very_ familiar chocolate brown.

And then, suddenly, every ounce of air seemed to be sucked from the room.

He was so _fucked_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Now he gotta getcha, rewinding the picture,_   
>  _There goes the alarm and the siren goes..._   
>  _There goes the alarm._


	4. Sledgehammer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad the last chapter went down well! Thank you for all your lovely comments ♥

Dani had to be dreaming because, really, there was no way that this could be happening. Absolutely no way. In a couple of minutes he would wake up, call Marc and they would laugh about this; they would laugh about it on their first date, on their wedding day, when they adopted their first child… ‘ _Hey, remember that time you had that dream that I was your student?’_

But he knew that he wasn’t going to wake up, the man- _boy_ \- standing not ten feet away from him was proof of that. Dani felt like screaming; he couldn’t open his mouth for fear of what was going to come out of it, be it words, vomit or anything else. A combination of all three didn’t seem unlikely, especially since his stomach had not taken this revelation well. He was in so much trouble, trouble he couldn’t even begin to imagine.

Marc remained frozen in place in the doorway, and if that didn’t point a flashing neon sign at them he didn’t know what would. A boy behind him, one Dani vaguely recognised as having been in the bar too, nudged him forward with an expression just as grave as the other two’s. _Yeah, you fucking know just how bad this is too_. Marc, although looking paler than Dani had ever seen him and more sombre than he should ever be, moved into the classroom, thankfully heading for a desk at the very back of the classroom.

The biology teacher had absolutely no idea what to do. Could he effectively teach a class with the guy he had been sexting the previous night, the guy whose messages he’d wanked to, sitting right there in front of him? Apparently not at all as old as Dani had assumed him to be? His first thought was that Marc had lied, and that hurt. But he hadn’t, had he? At neither point had either of them asked just how old the other was. Regardless, the fact that the younger man was potentially under the age of 18 was really something that should have come up a lot sooner than this.

_This is why I don’t fucking pick people up in bars. This is what I get._

The thought crossed his mind that he could dismiss the class, pretend that he was sick (not far from the truth) or had an emergency.  Alberto surely wouldn’t look kindly on him skipping out on his first day though, even though he would probably look even less kindly on the fact that he slept with a student, even if it had been before he started teaching there. So, basically, his only option was to teach this fucking class and hope to god that Marc didn’t even look at him.

If he did, Dani didn’t see it; that was his one saving grace in all this. It was just less than an hour, less than an hour and he had a free period and could freak out in peace then. Just one hour.

 _But he’s a fucking_ student _. Not just any student, my student. Why is this happening to me??_

The rest of the class, bar that boy with the sandy coloured hair that faithfully sat by Marc’s side, probably thought he was an idiot who couldn’t teach to save his life. They were probably right in relation to the former and, well, the latter wasn’t looking too good at this stage either. Really, the only thing he had going for him was that these were second years and, therefore, already familiar with the area. He set them some tasks to do, allowing them to work in pairs if they wanted in the hope that there would be at least some noise to take the edge off.

Sitting back down at his desk, Dani picked up his phone with shaky hands. The message he’d just been about to send to Marc before everything came suddenly tumbling down remained on the screen, and he deleted it as quickly as he could in the hope that it would make everything else disappear with it. It didn’t.

Dani: Please make yourself available for available for a call soon. I fucked up so badly.

Writing the words down only made him feel a hundred times worse.

Eric: What’s wrong? Is it an emergency?

Dani: I can’t tell you by text, sorry.  It might be and it mightn’t be I just… can’t even think right now.

Dani: I’m physically fine though

Eric: You’re really worrying me, Dani…

Dani: I know and I’m sorry but it’s pretty bad. I’ll call you soon

With that last message sent, Dani put down his phone, lifting his eyes to find Marc looking in his direction, too slow to look away before his teacher noticed. He genuinely shocked to see something more akin to devastation than embarrassment on the younger man’s face, and that certainly didn’t make things any better.

The rest of the hour passed excruciatingly slowly and there were so many times where Dani contemplated just saying ‘fuck it’ and walking out the door and never looking back. He knew that he couldn’t do that, even if he gave his notice there were still things that were up in the air. Frankly, there was no guarantee any of this would go away if he left. In fact, there is a chance that it might even get worse.

Eventually, mercifully, the bell rang. The rest of the students began to gather up their possessions and Dani wanted nothing more than to usher them all out of there. He knew he couldn’t so, instead, he tapped his foot anxiously beneath the desk as they began to trickle out, answering their farewells with as much of a smile as he could muster.

It wasn’t at all surprising that Marc decided to hang back behind everyone. He gathered his stuff slowly and every movement the younger man had Dani’s heart pounding harder and harder, to the point that it was almost all he could hear. Too soon, Marc was making his way towards him, the books clutched tight against his chest making him younger than Dani had ever seen him. Or maybe that was just Dani’s new outlook…

“Dani…”

Hearing Marc’s voice made everything infinitely worse, he soon learned. Folding his arms across his chest, effectively closing him off, Dani sighed wearily and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Marc. I cannot do this right now.” The words practically stuck in his throat, such was the lump that had formed. At least he’d managed to make it sound somewhat even.

Obviously expecting something to that effect, Marc nodded, inching closer to the door. “I’m eighteen, just so you know,” was all he said before disappearing, eager as Dani was to get out of there.

He was eighteen. That was _something_ at least. Technically, it wouldn’t be illegal for him to sleep with Marc even if he were only seventeen, but it still mattered to _him_. Dani considered it to be bad enough for him, a twenty seven year old man, to sleep with someone of school age, never mind if that person was technically still a child.

Sitting there for just a moment longer in an attempt to compose himself enough to be able to leave the safety of his classroom, Dani grabbed his bag and phone, aware of only one place where he could safely make a call of that level of sensitivity.

*****

“ _Dani?_ ”

Head rested against the steering wheel of his car, parked somewhere completely out of the way to eradicate the risk of anyone overhearing anything, Dani sighed. “Hi.”

“ _Would you mind telling me what the fuck is going on? I’m really worried.”_

 _Me too_. “Are you somewhere you can talk without anyone hearing?”

“ _Yeah, I was out earlier but I’m home now._ _Now_ talk _.”_

“I’m going to jail,” _yeah, best to just come out and say it,_ “or getting fired. Maybe both.”

_“Dani, I swear to god-“_

“He’s eighteen.”

“ _Who?”_

 _The guy who has come into my life like a fucking steam train_. “Marc. He’s eighteen.”

 _“Loverboy?”_ Dani could practically hear the smirk, _“Okay he’s a bit young but it’s still legal.”_

“He’s my fucking student, Eric.”

“ _Dani… that’s not funny._ ”

Hands clenching around the wheel, Dani gritted his teeth. “Do I sound like I’m fucking joking, Eric? He’s in my second year class and his brother- the tall one you were playing with- is in my first.”

“ _That’s not good._ ”

 _Thank you for that helpful observation_. “I have no idea what to do. Okay, it happened before either of us knew but I still feel like I should say something to the Head…”

“ _Do not. Dani, I’m telling you that’s a bad idea. They’re not going to care that it happened before you started there, all they’re going to care about is the fact that you had sex with one of the students. And maybe they won’t fire you or report you but they’re sure as hell not going to allow you to continue teaching there.”_

“What else am I meant to do, Eric? Just continue on, try to pretend that I haven’t fucked him? Delete all the messages from my phone and hope he doesn’t tell anyone?”

_“Have you… talked to him?”_

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Dani shook his head regardless of the fact that the other man couldn’t see it. “He came up to me after class but I just _couldn’t_ , I needed some time to try get my head around this.”

“ _Did you get the impression that he was angry about it? Do you think he’s likely to tell anyone?_ ”

“Honestly? I don’t think he’s going to tell anyone. Not right now at least. He seemed pretty upset by the whole thing.”

“ _Then I think you need to talk to him. From what you told me it seemed like he was as into you as you were into him so he’s probably as disappointed as you are. You need to find out if you’re both on the same page.”_

While his brother’s opinion that Marc was into him until today would have made him feel good about himself, now it just made him feel dirty. Dani couldn’t help but think of it as a shame; he’d finally meet someone that he seemed to click with, someone that made him laugh and turned him on more than he’d ever been turned on before, and- well- that person was his student.

“I think you’re right. I’m just… afraid to. I…”

“ _You really liked him_.”

He supposed there was no point in denying it. “Yeah, I guess I did.”

“ _Yeah, well that was clear to anyone with a pair of eyes. You need to talk to him but, remember, this is dangerous.”_

“I know it is and I’m not going to take one look into his eyes and bend him over the nearest desk but…”

There was a brief moment of silence where he thought the line might have cut out. “ _Dani, you’re not thinking about carrying on with this fling/ relationship/ whatever it is, are you?”_

The older Pedrosa brother wanted nothing more to be supremely offended by that but knew that it was a legitimate question. For a moment, Dani pondered what going down that road would be like; the stolen glances across the classroom, the clandestine meetings, the hidden feelings… If he knew nothing else he knew that he would not be able to do that. Okay, sleeping with Marc had been a genuine and honest mistake. Continuing to sleep with him, however, was going down a road that he never wanted to go.

“No. No matter what he says, it’s over.”

_I just hope that he agrees with me…_

****

Dani: Hi. I don’t know whether you have your phone on you but… I’m sorry for earlier on. I’m sure you can understand that I was quite shocked but I think we need to talk. Would you consider meeting me in my room after the final lesson? If you don’t want to I understand

Marc: Yeah, I’m sorry too. I think talking is a good idea. See you at 3?

Dani: See you then


	5. Didn't we Almost Have it All?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be Marc-centric :)

The knock on his office door, though he’d been expecting it, caused Dani to jump almost a foot into the air. Heart suddenly beating so fast that he was sure it would fail, he made his way over to the door, vacating the spot at the back of the classroom in which he’d spent the last fifteen minutes pacing. He reached for the handle of the door, as if it would burn him if he touched it. In the end, the thought of what might potentially happen if Marc was caught loitering outside his room won out and he pulled it quickly open, completely unprepared for the emotions that seeing the younger man again stirred up.

Marc stood there, looking somewhere between defiant and terrified, frown etched on his beautiful face. _God, Dani. Don’t go there. His appearance is no longer of any concern to you_. “C-Come in, Mr Marquez,” the teacher barely managed to get out, stepping far out of the way so that the younger man could enter. Taking a quick look out into the hall, he made sure that the door was fully closed but- importantly- not locked. Dani found himself inhaling deeply, trying to gather himself as much as humanly possible before he turned around and began the conversation that he’d been dreading since that morning. _This would be so much easier if your eyes and mouth weren’t a reminder of everything we did._ “Thanks for coming.”

It seemed like a good place to start, though Marc didn’t exactly seem to think so. The student scoffed. “It’s not like I had a choice.”

“Well,” getting slightly defensive, Dani folded his arms and narrowed his eyes, “I didn’t exactly want to have this conversation either but here we are.”

Regret flashed across the boy’s face and he shook his head softly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just… pissed off at the situation.”

“Yeah, that makes two of us. But there are a number of things that we really need to discuss. For example, I will understand completely if you want to tell Mr Puig what has happened but I would ask to consider letting me be the one to do that.”

“Mr Puig?” Marc’s eyebrows knitted together. “I don’t understand.”

“I thought you might think it necessary to tell him about what has happened between us.”

Marc, who had been leaning with a false casualness against one of the desks, now stood rod straight. “Are you fucking insane?”

“Mr Marqu-“

“No, _really_? You think we should just tell Alberto-fucking-Puig that we’ve been fucking each other? I’m sure that would go down absolutely _marvellously_.”

“ _Marc_ ,” the familiar tone caught the younger man’s attention and his posture seemed to relax ever so slightly, “I just thought you might consider telling him. The situation is… very uncomfortable.”

“If I did you would lose your job before so I’ll pass on that one, thanks.”

Confused at the turn this had taken, Dani gave a little shrug, feeling even further out of his comfort zone. His attempts at separating Teacher-Dani and Student-Marc from Lovers-Dani-and-Marc were obviously not working. “Probably. But it wasn’t like I seduced you when you were a student. We were both legally allowed to be where we were, both legally allowed to do what we did. Neither of us had any idea how this would turn out. I’d be able to find a job elsewhere but the handling of the situation is very much dependent on my being the one to come clean.”

“Are you not listening to a word I’m saying? We are _not_ telling Mr Puig. Like you said, we’re completely innocent. Neither of us knew who or what the other was. I’m eighteen, it’s none of his business who I fuck and you weren’t my teacher then. We did nothing wrong.”

He wished desperately that they could just get angry at each other. That would make this so much easier. “It might not seem like that to everyone.”

“True,” Marc conceded, eyes still burning with a fire that unnerved the older man, “but they’re not going to know. No one needs to know.”

“Your friends know. Your brother knows.”

“Yes, well Tito is the only one who even goes to this school and he’s not going to tell anyone. Alex certainly isn’t going to. So as long as no one else finds out it will be… okay.”

“What happens if someone does find out? The fallout will be so much worse if we try to hide it.”

It was Marc’s turn to cross his arms. “By all means, tell Puig if you want but when he asks me I’ll deny it.”

 _You’re telling me everything I wanted to hear… so why does it not feel like a good thing?_ Sighing, Dani wearily rubbed his face and sat back onto the edge of his desk. “This is a fucking mess.”

The younger man couldn’t argue with that. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I just never in a million years thought that we would end up in this position.”

“You don’t need to apologise. You may not have offered information but I certainly didn’t ask for any.” Dani couldn’t say with one hundred percent certainty that there wasn’t a reason for that. “It’s just a freak- and incredibly inconvenient- thing. I don’t blame you. Though I am certainly never picking anyone up in a bar again. As long as I live.”

Smiling sadly, Marc shook his head. “Like you said, it’s just a freak thing. The odds of it happening again are like, what? Ten million to one?”

“You overestimate my luck,” the biology teacher chuckled humourlessly, “I’m not really surprised that something like this happened. Simply because-“ _Shit_. Luckily he managed to catch himself before he finished that sentence but that certainly didn’t stop the younger man’s eyebrows from raising.

“Because?”

 _I’m sorry, I really can’t._ “It doesn’t matter.”

“Really? Because I think it does. What were you going to say?”

Torn between disclosing that little bit of information and not, it feeling so wrong now that all this new information had come to light, Dani waged an internal battle with himself before ultimately letting out a sigh and shaking himself. “I’m pretty sure you already know what I was about to say. And I can’t say those things anymore.”

“Yeah, well I like you too. But… I’m not an idiot, Dani. I know whatever we may have had is done. Even though I desperately wish it wasn’t- that it didn’t _have_ to be- your career is far more important than… feelings.”

 _I really don’t want to hear that you felt it too. I can’t deal with another ‘what if?’._ “Thank you for being so understanding about this. I’m so, so sorry.”

“You really don’t need to thank me. This is a really shitty situation and we’re both just trying to deal with it in whatever way we can. I would offer to drop your class but, well, it’s a bit late now and I think that would only draw attention because biology is one of my best subjects…”

 _Of course it is._ “I wouldn’t ask you to. It will be… difficult to adjust but after a while I reckon it should be okay. It’s just one year, right? It should go quickly and then we can forget this ever happened.” He was lying to himself. Dani was one hundred percent certain that he would never forget this as long as he lived. Even on his deathbed it would probably _still_ be on his mind.

It was obvious from the look on the younger man’s face that that wasn’t something he wanted to hear. “Here’s hoping…” he half grimaced, “So I guess that’s it then? We both agree that this stays between us? I become your student instead of your lover. You think we can pull that off?”

Dani resisted the urge to squeeze his eyes shut at Marc’s use of the word ‘lover’. “I guess we have to. It- it should get easier as the weeks go on.”

 _Yeah, like I’m ever going to be able to forget the fact that you’ve thoroughly fucked me not once but_ twice _._ Marc honestly wasn’t entirely sure that it would get easier, especially the more they got to know each other. _What happens if you’re every bit the person I thought you were?_ “I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Probably the best he could hope for, Dani gave him a sad smile. “Right.”

“And I take it our date for Friday is cancelled?”

“Marc…”

“I know. I’m sorry, that was out of line. I don’t want to make this any harder on you thank it already is.”

“It’s okay.”

 _No, it’s not. It’s categorically_ not _okay._ “I’ll delete your number and all the… messages when I get home.”

The bitterly disappointment on the younger man’s face certainly didn’t help the situation one bit. Dani longed to reach out and touch him, to comfort him, but he knew full well that he couldn’t. Whatever might have been there between the two of them needed to be nipped in the bud. _Immediately._ He couldn’t afford to do anything that might complicate that. “Marc, I’m so-“

“Don’t. Please, Dani, just… don’t. I get it. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you what age I was straight away so that maybe all of this could be avoided but I… I really wanted a chance and I didn’t in a million years think…”

 _What you don’t know is that I probably still would have gone home with you if I had known you were eighteen and nothing else_. “Like I said before, you don’t need to apologise. Like you said, you’re eighteen. It shouldn’t have mattered but, unfortunately, it does.”

The younger man gave a small nod, beginning to inch towards the door. “I guess if that’s all then I should probably get going. Before anyone starts asking questions.”

 _Yeah, you should do that._ “Thank you for being so understanding.”

Giving his teacher as much of a smile as he could muster, Marc slowly opened the door, lingering there for just a moment. “No need to thank me. See you tomorrow… Mr Pedrosa.”


	6. Almost Lover

Walking the short distance down the road to where he’d parked the car that morning, usually walking but oversleeping and therefore on track for being _very_ late, Marc gritted his teeth and almost growled when he saw that his brother was occupying the driver’s seat. He had given Alex the keys immediately after school had ended, needing the younger man out of the way so that he could have _the_ conversation with Dani. “Alex, what are you doing?”

Looking innocent as anything, Alex held up his hands. “I figured you’d be kinda upset so I thought it might be better for me to drive.”

“Well I’m fine so jump out.”

“You don’t look fine to me. It’s five minutes, just let me drive, Marc. You look like you’re about to kill someone so, no offence, if you’re driving I’m walking…”

 _What did I do to deserve such an annoyingly sensible brother?_ “Fine! Let’s just go.” Shutting the door again with a lot more force than was strictly necessary, the older of the two trudged around to the passenger side. He could have levitated home at this stage for all he cared. All Marc knew was that he just needed to be alone, the sooner the better.

Silence descended over the cab as Alex started the engine and checked the coast was clear before pulling out onto the street. His head was full of questions that he wanted to asked but it seemed to be a good idea to let his brother be for a couple of minutes, to allow him to cool down the slightest bit before he broached the subject. Maybe in other circumstances he would have let it slide altogether- Marc was a big boy and could take care of himself- but this… this was _a lot_ and Alex wasn’t entirely sure that his brother was actually capable of dealing with it alone.

It wasn’t until they had parked up outside their house that the younger Marquez pressed the button to lock the doors, effectively holding his brother captive. As anticipated, that one went down like a lead balloon.

“Alex. What. Are. You. Doing?”

 _Jesus. I’ve never seen you this angry in my entire life…_ Unwavering despite his brother’s pulling of the handle again and again and again, Alex stared him down. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

 _No_. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I know you don’t. The thing is you _have_ to. This is major, Marc. You had sex with your _teacher_.”

Squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears that were beginning to form, Marc shook his head. “I know! I _know_. I just can’t deal with this right now. I _really_ can’t, Alex. I can’t.”

For a moment, Alex sat there, absolutely dumbstruck. It took a look of reminiscing to come up with a time when his older brother had been even remotely as upset as this, and even then it didn’t come close. “Okay. _Okay_. I’m not going to look for details if you’re not ready but I really need to know that we’re not going to be pulled up in front of Mr Puig tomorrow morning. Because if we are then we have to get out stories straight.”

“No,” shaking his head ever so slightly, the older man drew a deep but shaky breath, “that’s not going to happen. We’re not telling anyone anything. Whatever happened that night stays between Dani and I. And you and Tito I suppose. No one else is _ever_ going to know. Especially not Mr Puig.”

“He’s not forcing you to keep quiet is he?”

“No, Alex, he’s not. He was in favour of coming clean but I- well, there was no way I was going to do that. He’d lose his job.”

“Well he did fuck you…”

That was the wrong thing to say, and the positively _murderous_ look on his brother’s face made sure that was clear in no uncertain terms. “We had _sex,_ it was certainly a two-way street thank you very much. I’m as much to blame in this as he is. Probably more actually, since I never told him what age I was.”

“Sorry. I’m… sorry. I know how much you liked him-“

 _Nope. That’s it._ “Yes, the situation is fucked. No, there’s nothing we can do about it except endure it. Lucky for us. Are we done here?”

Without saying a word, Alex nodded sheepishly and unlocked the car. He didn’t even bother making a move to take off his seatbelt until Marc was already halfway to the door, the door slammed so hard that it made the younger man jump.

 

With his eyes firmly set on the target that was his bedroom, Marc tore through the house like a whirlwind, barely stopping when he heard his mother shouting his name as she peered out from the kitchen. For a moment he considered ignoring her and just continuing on, but soon realised that his life expectancy would be significantly shorter if he did so.

“Yes, mama?” he tried his absolute hardest to avoid her gaze, learning from experience that his mother always seemed to have the ability to see right through him.

“Is everything okay?”

 _Well, you see, last Friday when I went out with Alex and friends I told you I was staying with Tito but I actually went home with some random guy I met in a bar and had the best sex of my life but it turns out he’s now my teacher and like ten years older than me and I’m completely fucked._ “Everything’s fine.”

Roser arched an eyebrow. “Then what’s with all the banging?”

“I-“ Instead of finishing that, Marc just shook his head, feeling too physically drained to successfully lie. “Sorry. I’m just… going to go to my room.”

Alex got inside just in time to see his brother practically flee in the direction of his room, leaving their mother looking between the spot he had previously occupied and her youngest son. Emotional Marc was not something that was uncommon when he had been around fourteen or fifteen but since then…

“What’s going on?”

 _You don’t want to know_. “I have no clue. But you know him, just give him some time and he’ll be fine.” The youngest Marquez wasn’t at all sure that that would be the case but there was little more he could do given the circumstances.

“Hmm,” looking entirely unconvinced, Roser shook her head, “Well Emilio called but I’m guessing now’s not a great time…”

 _Nope, definitely not a good time_. “Just let him calm down for a bit. If he resurfaces then tell him but he’s got a lot going through his mind at the moment-“ Alex tried not to look alarmed as he realised his mistake “obviously.”

“Right. I suppose that’s all we can do.” _I know you know, you do realise that?_ “Hungry?”

“ _Starving_.”

****

Making the extra effort to not slam his door for fear of attracting his mother’s attention once again, Marc completely broke down once it was closed and locked, leaning his forehead against the wood as he struggled to breathe. It wasn’t until he felt drops fall from his chin down onto his collarbone that he even realised that he was crying. A voice in the back of his head told him that he was being pathetic, that he was just proving why he wasn’t mature enough to have a relationship with someone that bit older than him but he didn’t care. This was an exceptional circumstance; surely a departure from his usual maturity was allowed.

He still couldn’t quite believe it. In fact the only thing that had him convinced that it wasn’t a dream was the fact that a dream couldn’t possibly hurt that much. He’d been flying high since Friday, since Friday _night_ , and now he’d just come crashing down to earth again. Highs and lows were something he’d gotten well used to dealing with but Marc couldn’t ever remember feeling anything remotely like this, because it wasn’t something he could improve on the following week, the following year.

Objectively, he would say he was being stupid. On paper it was stupid to become so attached to someone that he’d met in bar, went home with and fucked- twice. But, while it had been hot and fun, Marc had also felt a connection to Dani that he never felt with anyone before; like they just perfectly complimented each other, like they matched. And sometimes you just knew, right? You meet someone and something just instantly clicks, even if it is just chemistry.

He remembered how Dani’s hands had felt on him, how they kissed and that alone turned him on more than he’d even been turned on before, how the older man positively _ruined_ him…

Even texting him had resulted in Marc growling in frustration and sticking his hand down his boxers, typing out messages with one hand as he got himself off with the other, coming on his stomach nowhere near satisfying enough but sufficient until their date on Friday.

When he walked into that classroom this morning and saw _that_ Dani standing there, for a moment he was sure he’d had a nasty highside and was just imagining it. But no, Dani- _Mr Pedrosa_ \- had stood there gaping at him and Marc had wanted to make a run for it, never wanting to escape from a situation more in his entire life. The disappointment and flashes of anger in the older man’s eyes was like a punch to the stomach and Marc wished more than anything that they had been alone, that he could have explained. But there was no explanation needed, was there? It was what it was.

Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, he managed to make the short distance from the door to his bed, sitting down almost robotically. It was a mess, and for all the world he couldn’t see how it could be fixed. Albeit unbeknownst to themselves, he and Dani had crossed a line that teacher and student should never cross- and for good reason. Because he now had to sit in front of him, in a classroom full of students, and try not to think about just how good his biology teacher (that detail alone making him confident that the universe was in deed laughing at him) had felt inside of him. Every time Dani crossed his arms and his muscles moved under his shirt Marc would be reminded of how they’d felt beneath his touch. Every time he ran his hand through his hair Marc would be reminded of how it had felt tangled up in _his_ hair, while the younger man had been on his knees for him…

Catching sight of the shelf of trophies on the opposite wall, the tears began to fall once again and he slammed his fist against the mattress in frustration. It was difficult enough as it was- being who _he was_ was difficult enough, and he’d thought that maybe, just maybe, this one thing might have worked out. That this guy might have made all the pretending worth it. But he hadn’t. Instead _Mr Pedrosa_ had just made the one place where he never felt the weight of being _Marc Marquez_ hell on earth.  He couldn’t help remembering how insistent Dani had been that they gives themselves up and while Marc absolutely did not want to get the other man in trouble, he also couldn’t deal with the fallout that would result from effectively coming out to his principal. Although chances were it would stay between them, it wasn’t a chance that he was willing to take. And if Emilio knew, it was something he would definitely not allow him to do.

Almost biting through his lip, Marc pulled out his phone, staring at it for a long moment before even making a move to unlock it. Clicking into the thread of messages to Dani, that morning seeming like a lifetime ago now, he contemplated composing one last message. But Dani almost certainly wouldn’t respond favourably to that and so he clicked ‘delete thread’ instead, feeling like he’d just deleted a piece of himself as the conversation disappeared, just as if it had never happened.

Next on the list was Dani’s number, which proved to be an awful lot harder. Marc’s finger hovered over the delete button for a good five minutes before he growled at his lack of strength, pressing the back button and editing the contact name to ‘Danielle’ instead.

He was sure that Dani would have a heart attack if he knew he’d kept his number but what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Goodbye my almost lover, goodbye my hopeless dream._   
>  _I'm trying not to think about it, can't you just let me be?_   
>  _So long my luckless romance, my back is turned on you._   
>  _Should have known you'd bring me heartache..._   
>  _Almost lovers always do._


	7. Mi Peor Castigo

Pressing down on the handle before he stuck his key into the door, Dani wasn’t at all surprised when it swung open. He stepped inside, unsure of whether or not he was relieved by that fact, chucking his coat onto the rack before heading straight for the living area. Eric was, as expected, already sat there on the couch, two boxes of pizza on the coffee table accompanied by two six packs of Estrella. _That’s my question answered anyway_. “Hey.”

“Hey. How did it go?”

Shaking his head to himself, Dani dropped down onto the couch next to him. “It was… well it wasn’t _fine_ but you know…”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Hungry?”

“Starving. I, uh, haven’t eaten all day.”

 _Yeah, finding out you fucked one of your students has been known to be linked with loss of appetite._ “I timed it well, just got in a couple of minutes ahead of you.”

Dani gave his brother his thanks, opening both of the pizza boxes and groaning when the smell made his stomach grumble. It was only then that he realised that he was just about ready to drop, his energy levels completely depleted from the stress and lack of food. He swallowed the first slice almost whole, shooting his brother a dirty look when Eric just shook his head and laugh. “Be quiet and open the beer,” he ordered, mouth almost completely full.

Eric did as he was told, handing it over and waiting for his older brother to get an adequate amount of pizza into him before getting back into the not-so-pleasant stuff again. “So, are you going to tell me what happened?”

 _Ugh._ “I’d rather not.” _Just want to eat my pizza and drink my beer_.

“Yeah, well tough. This is important.”

Glowering, Dani took another gulp of his beer before setting it down with a little too much force on the table, causing some of it to fizz over. He made no move to clean it up. “He came to see me as planned after school, I offered to tell the head what had happened if he wanted. He didn’t like that at all and he seemed to be worried about my job so I don’t think him telling anyone is going to be a problem.”

“You think he’s not out?”

“I don’t know. He seems incredibly secure. Like he came onto me really strong that night but I guess there’s a big difference between a random bar and having your whole school know. I just… I don’t think that would even be a problem for him. Marc… he just seems like the kind of person that everyone would just accept no matter what because he’s so formidable.”

Eric pursed his lips. “Maybe he’s not like that. Maybe he just knew that you weren’t going to make a move and that was the only way he could have you.”

Trying to pretend, for his own sake more than anything, that that little trip down memory lane didn’t do strange things to him, Dani shrugged. “Maybe. Doesn’t matter now anyway.”

“And how was he when you talked to him?”

“Embarrassed. Disappointed. Annoyingly mature…”

 _What._ “Annoyingly mature? What, you’d have preferred him to actually act like an eighteen year old?”

“Yeah, actually. If he suddenly changed then it might have been easier to compartmentalise everything. But he was the same. A little more subdued, but the same.”

“Which is problematic because it means you still want to rip his clothes off.”

The cavalier way in which his brother said that had Dani choking on his drink, beer coming out through his nose and making him grimace at how disgusting that was. “Eric!”

“What?” Eric arched an eyebrow, looking like he knew exactly what he was doing.

“You can’t say that! I’m his teacher. He’s my _student_.”

 _I don’t know whether to be worried or relieved by your reaction._ “Why not? The damage is done. You can’t exactly un-fuck him.”

“ _Still!_ Just because I’ve already committed the crime once doesn’t mean that I have to abandon all my morals.”

“Okay, good. You passed.”

 _I- what_. Gritting his teeth together, Dani stared at his brother in disbelief, anger beginning to bubble. “I _passed_?”

“Yep. I was just trying to see if I needed to be worried. But it looks like I don’t.”

As much as the older man hated to admit it, it made sense. If the positions were reversed he was sure he’d be just as doubtful about whether or not Eric would be able to cope with that situation. His appetite gone once again, Dani leaned back into the couch. “Oh. So… what would you do if I hadn’t passed?”

“Honestly? I don’t know.”

****

“You were looking at his brother,” Dani suddenly remembered, a collection of empty bottles now dotted around the table in front of them. Because, naturally, the only way to solve a situation that had been caused by alcohol in the first place was more alcohol.

“Yeah, but that was only to annoy you. He’s not really my type.”

 _Why? Not enough of an exhibitionist?_ “Good, because Alex is sixteen.”

It was his brother’s turn to choke, sitting up rod straight. “What?! What is it with that family? What sixteen year old looks like that? He shouldn’t have been there in the first place!”

“Just make sure to ask for ID next time. I’m just thankful Marc is actually eighteen or I could have been in trouble.”

 _Yeah, because you and your hot little student are best case scenario._ “Wow, that’s sexy… ‘Do you want to come back to mine? Wait- I’m going to need to see some ID first…’”

“Just… be careful. Because this has undoubtedly been the worst day of my life.”

“I’ll keep that in mind in case I ever decide that I suddenly want to be a teacher.”

 

“Pff, I don’t think you teaching children is a good idea.”

“Yeah well out of the two of us I’m not the one who’s fucked one of his students so you’re really not in a position to judge _me_ , are you?”

 _As if this day couldn’t get any worse… I’ve officially lost all moral high ground._ “Fuck off.”

****

Looking over at the clock next to his bed for what seemed like the fiftieth time, Dani growled and pulled the spare pillow over his face. It was closer to four than three and he still had yet to get even a minute’s sleep. On the weekend that would have been fine but when he had to get up after seven and go teach twenty five teenagers at a time it was almost unbearable. Tired to the point of feeling like he would fall into a coma any moment but just unable to fall asleep, he felt like screaming, thoughts of Marc running rampant in his traitorous brain. Was it not enough that he’d had to suffer through the whole day? He didn’t just need sleep, he _deserved_ sleep.

Deciding that enough was enough, he threw the pillow to a far corner of the room, pushing the covers off with a huff before stalking towards the kitchen. Hunching down in front of the bottom cupboard, he fished around until he got his hands on what he was looking for: a bottle of whiskey that he’d been gifted with for something he didn’t care to remember last year or the year before, still untouched due to the fact that he didn’t drink whiskey.

Well, he did today.

Grabbing a glass from the press, Dani poured himself a more than generous measure, barely pausing before he threw it back. The sensation of the liquor going down was unpleasant in the extreme but he couldn’t find it within himself to care. If his body wouldn’t listen to him and shut down for a couple of hours then he was going to force it. Once he had made sure that it wasn’t going to make a sudden reappearance, he poured another measure, following the same procedure once again after that. It all hit him at once, his head becoming even fuzzier than it had been after drinking six bottles of beer.

Normally, Dani wouldn’t condone alcohol abuse but he would have done anything to rid himself of those intrusive thoughts that kept hounding him. Staggering just a little bit as he made his way back down the hall and into his room once again, he decided that the headache in the morning would be worth it.

****

“Are you okay?”

It took him a moment to realise that the person was talking to him, turning his head almost robotically to look at them, coffee cup clasped between his hands as if it were a lifeline. Jorge Lorenzo, the _Castellano_ teacher, was looking at him with genuine concern.

“Oh. I’m fine, I guess. Just didn’t sleep at all last night.”

“Must be a bit of a shock to the system.”

It was all Dani could do to keep from dropping the cup, trying not to look too alarmed and probably failing miserably if his heart rate was anything to go by. “What?!”

“Teaching baxtillerat?”

 _Right. Of course you’re talking about that and not my illicit affair with one of our students that nobody knows about._ “Yeah, it’s a bit of a shock to the system all right. I never realised just how much.”

“Well, it gets a lot easier. This time next week you’ll have adjusted completely.”

 _I don’t think so, but…_ “Hopefully,” he managed to smile, relieved when the bell announced the commencement of classes. Dani knew he needed to get out of there before he said anything incriminating due to his severe lack of sleep and hangover, the journey to his room made an awful lot more bearable by the fact that he had neither Marc nor Alex until after lunch.

All in all, given his current state, his morning classes were a resounding success. The fact that he could push _him_ to the back of his mind for a bit meant that he could really concentrate on getting to know his other classes and was delighted to find that they were a remarkably intelligent bunch. But, far too soon, lunch had arrived and the feeling of dread weighing him down returned with a vengeance. Unlike the previous day, Dani hadn’t disappeared during lunch, deciding that it was probably best to start building a rapport with his colleagues. He knew from his experience with temporary teaching that life as an outside was quite lonely and had no intention of starting his tenure out like that again.

Marc’s class was first up after the break, and for the second time in as many days he found himself contemplating just making a run for it, his justification being that he would adjust to the… _situation_ eventually but for now just needed a bit of a buffer. That was never going to happen, however, and so he just bit his lip and went to sit behind his desk, bracing himself for the moment that Marc Marquez would walk through his door.

It wasn’t until he actually showed up, in the middle of a group of his classmates but eerily silent, that Dani realised that he had been counting on Marc not being in class today. And, to be perfectly honest, he probably shouldn’t have been. Marc looked just as bad as Dani felt, dark bags beneath his eyes and skin looking more grey than its usual glowing golden brown. The younger man’s state surprised the biology teacher to such an extent that Dani seriously considered sending him home, and probably would have if it weren’t for the fact that he had no intention of speaking to him in a class full of his peers.

Once again, they made it to the end of the lesson without anything remarkable happening, Dani biting his lip as he watched them all file out once again. He’d just opened his mouth to call Marc back when someone else spoke to him, diverting his attention. Answering the student’s question dutifully, his gaze lingered on the retreating form on the younger man.

_Another day down._


	8. By the Way...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates two days in a row... wooo!

Something strange happened during Dani’s third week on the job: he had been running a little late, apologising as he walked into the class five minutes after the scheduled start to find one very noticeably empty seat at the back of the class. No Marc. At first, that unnerved him and his mind immediately thought up a million and one different scenarios that explained his absence, ranging from the younger man leaving the school to getting hit by a car. None of which were particularly likely and, after mentally telling himself that he needed to get a life, Dani got on with the class.

He certainly wasn’t prepared for how much easier it was to teach when Marc wasn’t there, all but forgetting about his student’s existence after a couple of minutes. It felt like he could _breathe_ again, like he could laugh and smile and be more of the person that he usually was. Or had been- the person he had been before everything went so spectacularly wrong. So good was his mood that he declined to give them homework, instead half-heartedly giving them a chapter to read that he was already planning on running through the next day with the knowledge that no one was actually going to even so much as open the book.

Lunch was also a relatively painless affair. Being the closest to each other in age, he and Jorge naturally gravitated towards each other and, though the other man had seemed a little stand-offish at the beginning, he realised that they had quite a bit in common. He learned that Jorge had a 3 year old son with his fiancé, Ricky, who- conveniently- worked in a crèche. When he’d been asked about his love life, Dani had just laughed and said that he was ‘hopelessly single’ and that right now that was very, _very_ okay with him.

First class after lunch was meant to be Alex’s- or, well, it _was_ Alex’s but the younger Marquez sibling was also absent. Wondering for a moment whether he had some kind of brain tumour and the two had just been a figment of his imagination, Dani shook his head to himself and got on with the class, never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

It was by far the best day he’d had since starting at the school.

****

Friday was even stranger. Arriving at work well rested for once, Dani was fully resigned to the fact that today everything would go back to the way it was before. Much to his astonishment, however, that didn’t happen, prompting him to reconsider that brain tumour theory. Once again, neither Marc nor Alex were present and that really made the biology teacher worry. He began to assess the situation a little more critically, heart nearly stopping as realised that their parents could have found out about him and Marc and took them out of the school.

It was all he could think about, and he found himself even more distracted than before during his first couple of classes. That was until he met Alberto in the hall on the way to the bathroom, the principal greeting him with a warm smile and a clap on the back.   _So if he’s not firing me or calling the police I think it’s safe to assume that he still doesn’t know._

Dani knew that the most obvious explanation was that the Marquez boys had the flu or a stomach bug- even a family event- but that didn’t stop him from worrying. Getting into his car that afternoon, he began to seriously consider whether all this was worth it- whether the anxiety and stress was enough to just say ‘okay, that’s it’ and cut his losses, looking instead for a place to work where he didn’t have to second guess himself every second of the day. In the end, he decided that it was a genuine option, but that he would stick it out for a little while longer, hoping more than anything that it would change.

 

“Sorry I’m late…” Eric bit his lip, sliding into the chair opposite him before Dani even had a chance to blink, “My last session ran a little late.”

The older of the two tried not to be too annoyed by the fact that it was Eric who had organised all this. “It’s fine. But the waitress kept making sad eyes at me because she thought I was being stood up.”

“Then maybe I should apologise for coming?” Seeing the look on his brother’s face, he raised an eyebrow. “Too soon?”

“Too soon.”

It really seemed like Eric was on a mission to make sure that he wasn’t left alone for any considerable period of time. Every evening after school his brother would ‘spontaneously’ decide to pop round to his to ‘watch the football’ or ‘borrow a screwdriver’, the excuses becoming so ridiculous that Dani contemplated telling him that he could stop the pretending. Whether it was just for support or Eric was just worried about what he would do if left to his own devices for too long, he did not know and, frankly, he didn’t really care. He couldn’t quite describe how much better it felt to have someone he could talk freely (well, freely enough) to about Marc without fear of being arrested, fired, or both.

 

“So how was your day?”

“Fine, I guess…”

Looking up from the piece of bread he had busied himself buttering, Eric raised an eyebrow. “Fine? Marc back?”

“No, actually. _Neither_ of them are.”

“Then why aren’t you happier? That should be great news.”

Tearing apart a piece of bread for something to do more than anything, Dani sighed and gave a little shrug. He didn’t know whether he was coming or going these days. “I’m just a little worried. And I know I shouldn’t be but I have this… this _feeling_ that something is wrong.”

“Dani…”

“Yes, I know, Eric. I _know_. And it’s not even that I think there’s something wrong with _him_ , I just have this gut feeling that something isn’t right.”

For a moment, Eric didn’t know what to say to that and he just observed the younger man, heart breaking a little bit for him when he had to look down and away from his gaze, as if he were ashamed. “He’s really fucked you up, hasn’t he?”

“It’s not his fault.”

 _Right_. “Look, I know you might not want to hear this but I really think you should at least consider handing in your notice. Yeah, it may raise some questions but nothing that can’t be explained with a lie or two. This is absolutely _killing_ you and I’m worried that it’s just going to get worse.”

“I have contemplated it, to be honest. But I think I’m going to stick it out for a little while longer and see how it goes.”

“Well, I’m here for you no matter what. Whatever decision you make, I’ll support you.” That was one hundred percent true but Eric just hoped his brother wouldn’t wait until he and Marc snapped and fell into bed together again to make the decision.

****

 _I knew it_.

Jaw hanging open as Marc walked (or maybe hobbled was the better description) into his classroom on Monday morning, Dani couldn’t believe his eyes. The younger man was absolutely _wrecked_ ; his chin ripped to shreds and swollen, his right leg injured enough to need crutches. Tito walked dutifully behind his friend, carrying both of their books as they made their way, as always, to the back of the class. _What the actual fuck._

He tried to think of something that would explain those injuries and came up with nothing, never seeing battered that way before in his life. It obviously wasn’t from a fight or anything like that, almost like he’d been dragged along by something with his chin on the ground. Once seated, Marc looked up and caught him staring, the small smile and shrug he gave his teacher the only indication since they’d found out who the other was that they actually knew each other. Or even saw each other.

Dani, somehow, managed to get on with the class but his gaze kept returning to the dark haired, almost black eyed boy in the back row, whose arm hand seemed to be hurt to if his little winces while writing were anything to go by. While the rest of the class chatted amongst themselves, he drew a deep breath and meandered through the desks, Tito looking up before Marc and giving his classmate a little nudge into the ribs. Soon, he was looking into those eyes again, cringing when he was met with genuine alarm.

“Mr Rabat, I don’t think Mr Marquez should be overexerting himself… would you copy your notes for him to save him writing?”

“Of course-“

“It’s fine, I can do it,” Marc insisted, not at all to his teacher’s surprise.

“Just because you _can_ doesn’t mean you _should_. Tito, don’t listen to him.”

Arching an eyebrow in mild surprise and amusement at that, Tito looked between the two men. “Yes, sir.”

Marc seemed to acquiesce to that, shooting Dani a pointed look as he put down his pen and folded his arms across his chest. It was only then that he saw the four or five stitches along the younger man’s pinky. _Jesus, what did you do to yourself?_ Wondering what had caught his teacher’s attention, Marc frowned and looked down, mouth forming a little ‘o’ when he realised. Cheeks turning a light shade of pink, he uncrossed his arms, lowering them below the desk.

Arching an eyebrow at that, Dani let him know that they would be discussing it later without saying a word before returning to the top of the class. Funnily enough, even after just that little bit of interaction Dani felt an awful lot better. He wondered if part of the problem was that they’d attempted to completely ignore each other’s existence, rather than actually acting like teacher and student.

Once Dani declared the lesson over, Marc remained seated, whispering something in Tito’s ear that had his good friend nodding and leaving with all their stuff. Biding his time as the masses fled, as soon as the room was more or less emptied he hobbled his way to the top of the class, the biology teacher moving in the direction of the door to close it.

“What the hell happened to you, Marc?”

“A nasty highside.”

“A _what_?”

He realised that the other man probably had no idea what that was. “Too much gas. Just got too aggressive and pushed it too hard which is really annoying because I was in third and there were like four laps left to go.”

For the second time that day, Dani’s jaw hit the floor. “You race?”

 _Oh boy…_ “Er, yeah. I suppose I never mentioned that either… That’s why I wasn’t here for the past couple of days and neither was Alex. It was a GP weekend.”

 _So you race motorcycles… lovely._ And yet, Dani can’t even find it within himself to be all that surprised. Surely someday next week he would find out that Marc was actually the Crown Prince of a country or something equally impressive. “Right. And are you okay? Because you look like someone had multiple goes at hitting you with a car.”

 _You’re not mad._ “Y-yeah, I’m okay. I’ve had worse than this before. It really isn’t as bad as it looks. The chin will take the longest to heal.”

Hand automatically reaching out, Dani’s eyes widened as he caught himself, pinning it back to his side once again and trying to ignore the look of disappointment on the younger man’s face. “Well, please be careful. As careful as racing motorcycles will allow you to be.”

“I’ll try,” Marc half-smiled, hoping towards the door, “Can’t make any promises though…”

****

Later that evening, his curiosity got the better of him and he ended up googling ‘Marc Marquez’…

And then promptly reached for the bottle of whiskey again.


	9. New Addition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Aleix ;)

“He hasn’t changed.”

Arching an eyebrow as Marc hobbled into his room, Alex put down his pencil, pushing over with a sigh on the bed when his brother abandoned his crutches on the floor. “Who?”

“Dani!” The older man looked at him as if he were slow, “Who do you _think_?”

 _Of course. Because all you think about these days is Dani Pedrosa._ Deciding that this one was going to warrant his full attention, Alex closed his book. “You’ve known him for a grand total of like a month… what makes you think he would have changed in that time.”

 _Honestly, Alex_. “You know what I mean. He still cares.”

“What did you do…”

Marc rolled his eyes, quickly snatching up a square of his brother’s chocolate before he could catch him, grinning when the younger man shot him a withering look. “I didn’t do anything. He was just… concerned about what happened to me; made Tito copy his notes for me instead of writing them myself.”

“Sounds like something any good teacher would do…”

“You don’t get it, for the past couple of weeks we haven’t so much as looked at each other in class. Well, not while the other was looking anyway. But today he actually spoke to me, right there in front of everyone. Because he didn’t want me to be in pain. That’s progress. And, before you say anything, I know this doesn’t mean that we’re going to… that anything is going to happen but- it just felt like I could actually _breathe_ for once. Because up until now I’ve felt like I was drowning.”

 _You’re so done for._ Trying not to show just how concerned he was for his older brother, Alex managed a smile. “I’m glad to hear that. But, Marc, you have to let it be normal rather than-“

“I know,” he frowned as the memory of Dani reaching out to touch his face before pulling away as if he realised it would burn him began replaying in his head, “I know. We’ve just been trying so hard to make it seem like we were nothing to each other that I think it made the whole thing more conspicuous. And I’m glad I figured that out because it was _exhausting_. I know nothing is going to happen- it _can’t_ \- but just…”

“Yeah, I know.”

****

Eric: Come to the door, I’ve got a surprise

Letting out a weary sigh, Dani pulled himself up from where he’d been watching the news in peace on the couch, the fact that it was already past eight and that there hadn’t been sight nor sound of his brother luring him into a false sense of security that he wasn’t going to show up tonight. What concerned him the most, however, was why he would tell him to come to the door instead of using his key like he always did. And this ‘surprise’ wasn’t exactly filling him with confidence either… _I hope for you sake it’s not strippers._

“Surprise!” Whatever Dani had been expecting, pulling the door open to see Eric standing there with a puppy in his arms was not it.

“Dog.”

“Er… yes, Dani, _dog_.” Looking at his brother as if there were something wrong with him, Eric bumped the older man out of the way and made his way inside.

 _But…_ “Eric, why do you have a dog? Who did you steal it from?” Shutting the door, Dani followed on into the living area, eyebrows still knitted together in confusion as he tried to ascertain whether this was actually happening or if he was just imagining it.

The puppy was now down on the floor, sniffing around while Eric sat cross-legged nearby, encouraging it. “I didn’t steal it. She’s yours.”

 _She’s-_ “WHAT.”

“A friend of mine breeds beagles. I met him yesterday and he asked if I knew of anyone who might want one and then I realised it would be perfect for you! You live on your own, work short enough hours and have the weekends and holidays off…” The older man crossed his arms and stared his brother down expectantly until Eric rolled his eyes. “Fine, I thought having a puppy to take care of might help to take your mind off of Marc.”

 _There it is_. “Are you _insane_? You can’t just decide you’re going to give me a dog! I don’t want a dog! If I wanted a dog I would already _have_ one.”

Scooping the little munchkin of a creature up into his arms again, Eric feigned a look of horror. “How can you not want her? Look how beautiful she is!”

The dog was beautiful, but that still didn’t change the fact that Dani didn’t want a dog. “You can’t just decide you’re going to get someone a dog! Take her back.”

“I’m _not_ taking her back. She’s yours.”

“Take her back or I’m calling our mother.”

 _Ha!_ “Go ahead, call her. And while you’re at it tell her why I thought it would be a good idea to get you a dog…”

Absolutely seething at that, Dani growled, prompting the little floppy eared thing to look straight up at him with her big brown eyes and chubby snout and tiny paws… “Give her to me.”

Eric arched an eyebrow. “You’re not going to hurt her, are you?”

“I’m not going to _hurt_ the fucking dog. I’m not a monster. Now give her to me.” Grinning triumphantly, the younger man gestured for his brother to sit down next to him, which he did, before scooping the puppy into his waiting arms. “Hello…” Dani awkwardly rubbed her head, “I guess I’m your owner now. What’s her name?”

“She doesn’t have one.”

“Oh. Well, in that case I’m going to call you Snoopy.”

 _Oh for fuck sake._ “Dani, isn’t that a bit of a cliché?”

He turned his head to glower at him. “Her name is Snoopy.”

****

Eric, being the idiot that he was, gave him a dog and fuck all else. For his punishment, Dani sent him to the nearest pet shop with a list of things to get, including food, a dish, a collar and a leash, while stayed at home with Snoopy. His brother left soon after returning, which was good because he was exhausted and wanted to get to bed. That created another dilemma: they’d forgotten a dog bed. He tried to come up with somewhere to let her sleep that wouldn’t involve letting a puppy have free run of his apartment, ultimately deciding that the main bathroom was his best bet. Getting a spare pillow and blanket, he created a little bed for her, leaving her water and food close by, as well as a puppy training mat.

All was well until around one in the morning, when Dani was woken by a high-pitched howling. The shock of hearing such a foreign sound almost caused him to fall off the bed until he realised what it was. Getting up with a groan, he cursed Eric’s name and padded up the hall to retrieve the pup and her blanket.

“Just for tonight, okay Snoops? Tomorrow you’re going to have your own place.” As if to answer his question, she licked his hand with her tiny tongue, which he rolled his eyes at but inside made him turn a little bit gooey. Returning to his room, he shut the door behind him so she wouldn’t escape, laying out her blanket at the bottom of the vacant side of the bed. After crawling in under the covers once again, he wished her a good night, cringing at the absolute farce that his life had become.

When he woke again in the morning she was asleep on his chest.

****

“Eric, I need you to come look after the dog.”

_“Jesus, Dani! It’s eight o clock in the morning.”_

“Yeah, well you gave up all rights to complain the minute you decided to surprise me with a live animal. She’s too young to be left alone. I just managed to actually make it out the door without her escaping and she’s just sitting behind the door, crying her little eyes out. I can’t leave her alone.” _And her_ arrooos _are going to wake all the neighbours._

_“Ugh, take her to school with you. Kids love dogs.”_

Closing his eyes, Dani took a deep breath and prayed for patience. “Eric Pedrosa Ramal, you landed me with a fucking _dog_ out of nowhere last night so if you think there’s even a remote chance of you getting out of this then you can think again.”

_“Fine. But can you drop her off along the way?”_

Smirking to himself, Dani stuck his key back into the door and slipped inside once again. “You hear that, Snoops? You’re going on a road trip!”

Later, as he left Eric’s sitting room in a state of disarray, puppy paraphernalia as far as the eye could see, Dani glanced back at his brother as he made his way to his car and arched an eyebrow. “Better a puppy than an eighteen year old boyfriend, right?”

Eric knew he would come to regret uttering those words.

****

Eric: So… I’ve just taken Snoopy for her first walk and I came home with five phone numbers #winning

Chuckling to himself, Dani shook his head as he quickly typed a reply before the students started to get rowdy.

Dani: Stop using my dog to pick up women. They’re going to be disappointed when they find out you don’t own her

Eric: About that… I was thinking I could babysit her during the day when I’m not working?

Dani: Pff!

Dani: I suppose it would be nice for her to have company…

Dani: But if you turn her into a bold dog I will kill you!

Eric: Me? Absolutely not ;)

Eric: _pic.img_ Look at how adorable she is

Grinning away to himself, the biology teacher balked when he realised that students had stopped coming through the door, meaning they were all currently watching him smiling into his phone like an idiot. _Well done, Dani…_ He cleared his throat, cringing when he saw that Alex was sat just a couple of feet away from him, eyebrows knitted together as he observed the older man carefully.

Dani swallowed, just getting on with the lesson in the hope that Alex wouldn’t tell his brother about that... 

 

 


	10. J'en ai Marre

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about this one, it was an absolute demon and I don't really like it but I have to keep pushing on :/

Making sure that enough time had passed since Marc had left the room to be completely safe, Alex paused the Playstation, ignoring his friend’s protestations. “I have a problem.”

“A problem that warrants me losing my streak?”

Rolling his eyes, the younger man yanked the controlled from Tito’s hands. “I think Dani is seeing someone,” Alex bit his lip, resisting the urge to smirk when Tito’s face instantly fell. _See, it is a problem._

“How do you know??”

“When I came to class this morning he was grinning into his phone. The only time I saw him smile like that was-“

“that night in the bar with Marc.” Watching as Alex nodded, he gave an exasperated sigh. “Are you going to tell him?”

 _And there lies the problem._ “I have no idea whether I should or not. A part of me feels like I have to but another part of me thinks that it would be-“

“A fucking disaster?”

Managing a smile at just how on the same wavelength they were, Alex nodded. “Right. I take it you agree?”

“Yeah, I really don’t think you should tell him. I mean, on paper they’re moving on, right? Or at least Dani is anyway but Marc… no matter how much he tries to deny it he still likes him. He practically ruined himself in Silverstone and he’s just now beginning to smile again after everything that happened…”

“Telling him would only make things worse, I know. It just… feels like I’m hiding stuff from him.”

“Do you know for sure that Dani is seeing someone?”

“Well, no-“

“Then you’re not keeping anything from him. You saw him smiling into his phone, it could be anything.”

“So nothing-“

“ _Nothing_.”

No more could be said on the matter as Marc appeared a mere couple of seconds later, hands full with drinks and a large packet of Lays tucked beneath his arm. “I hope Cheese and Onion is okay because _someone_ ate all the Salt and Vinegar last night when he got the munchies…”

Alex gave his brother a nudge, Tito said that was fine and they restarted the game. Marc was none the wiser.

****

Returning to the sitting room, Roser frowned as she sat down next to her husband. She remained silent for a moment, mulling it all over in her head until Julia looked over at her, turning down the tv when he realised something was up. “What’s wrong?”

“I was walking by Marc’s room and I heard Alex and Tito discussing something while he was in the bathroom… Has either of the boys ever mentioned someone called Dani to you?”

His brows knitted together. “Well Dani isn’t exactly an uncommon name… but in great detail? I don’t think so. Why?”

 _That’s what I thought._ “I think I know why Marc had such a dreadful weekend at Silverstone.”

Now very intrigued, Julia gave her his full attention. “Go on…”

“He was heartbroken. Which really explains why he went from walking on air to locking himself away and nearly killing himself on the bike.”

“I didn’t know he was seeing anyone. Surely he would have at least mentioned her?”

Roser loved her husband, she really did, but there were times when he just didn’t get it. _Oh dear_. “That’s because he was seeing _Dani_. Who’s not a girl…”

The look on his face as they penny finally dropped was borderline comical, not distasteful just… pure shock. “Oh. Well, yeah, I guess that would explain why he kept it to himself. So you think this Dani was his boyfriend?”

Giving a little shrug, she smiled sadly. “I don’t know. From the way Alex was talking it would seem like it. No wonder he was in such a state. He was hurting and nobody could know why. It must have been so lonely for him.”

“Well he seems to be able to talk to Alex and Tito at the very least. I understand what you’re saying but we can’t exactly talk to him about it until he decides to tell us himself. We shouldn’t even know anything…”

“I know,” Roser bit her lip, “but I couldn’t help but overhear. And I now want to give him a hug and make him cookies…”

Julia couldn’t help but laugh at that. Of course, Marc still loved his mother as much as he always did but the times when he needed to be coddled by her were now few and far between. Even if he would undoubtedly appreciate the cookies. “I don’t think you can just decide to do that without a valid reason. He’s a big boy, I’m sure he can handle it himself. And he’s got the boys too.”

“I know. You’re right but… he’s my boy. And I don’t like to see him sad, it’s not right.”

“Well he has appeared to be an awful lot better in the past couple of days. Just let it run its course and he’ll be annoyingly happy Marc once again.”

She could only hope he was right.

*

If there was one thing that was for certain, it was that almost every girl in the school seemed to love Marc Marquez. And, as he watched them attempt to win him over from the safety of his desk before class started, Dani couldn’t exactly blame them. There was nothing not to love, really; Marc was intelligent, funny, insanely good looking and a fucking professional motorcycle racer to top it all off. Dani couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit sorry for them; for all his easy smiles and flirtations, he was one hundred percent sure that Marc would rather be chatted up by his male classmates than female.

It was evident that, despite his enthusiasm when they’d first met, Marc’s sexuality was a closely guarded secret. It definitely wasn’t for lack of confidence, so Dani had to assume his job had a big part to play in that. In fact, Dani would have almost pitied him for having to keep such a large part of him a secret were it not for the fact that he knew Marc would hate that. Still, it had to be a lonely existence; while other riders were rocking up to races with their girlfriends and wives, the CatalunyaCaixa rider would only ever have ‘friends’ until such a time as he was ready to announce to the world that he was gay. And, well, that was going to be insane.

One of the students, Isabella with the long blond hair and olive green eyes, had just placed her hand on Marc’s thigh when Dani, out of nowhere, decided that he would get the class started a minute or two early, urging the students to take their seats. It wasn’t until he looked at Marc and saw that the younger man had arched an eyebrow in clear amusement that Dani realised that he had been glaring. Absolutely mortified at how he could be so blatantly unprofessional, the biology teacher’s cheeks flushed pink. Marc wasn’t his, he had to remind himself; he was awarded no say in who did and did not touch him.

Furious with himself, Dani went to write someone on the board- anything- just so that he could break eye contact and take a minute to compose himself. How could he have been so stupid? He’d made it abundantly clear to Marc that whatever had transpired between them was over, and yet what he’d just done sent a very different signal. All he could hope was that Marc would understand that there was a transition period, that feelings just couldn’t be switched off like that…

If anyone noticed the little groan that escaped him as he scrawled something off the top of his head across the board they certainly didn’t say anything.

“Right, so today we’re going to go through the theory behind this week’s experiment, in which we will be immobilising enzymes…”

*

“He’s so inconvenient,” Dani, uncaring that he was probably (definitely) going mad, complained to Snoopy as he lay in bed (the very one that he had fucked Marc twice in) watching tv that evening. But surely lots of people talked to their dogs? They were the best listeners, attentive and completely non-judgmental. “I can’t sleep with him because I have to teach him and teaching him is a complete nightmare because I slept with him.”

Stoking her silky ears that were completely disproportionate to her small body, Dani sighed. “Sometimes I think it would be much better to be a dog. How about we swap places, Snoops? You can go and teach my classes and I’ll stay here and be the dog? You’d probably be better at it than I am. At least there would be no risk of you sleeping with any of the students.”

Right, that was it- he’d officially lost the plot. Snoopy obviously thought as much as she gave no indication that she’d even heard a word that he’d said. Dani couldn’t blame her.  

“You know what the easy solution to all this would be? Well, besides quitting my job, that is. Finding someone else. Preferably someone my own age or even older, just to be on the safe side. It’s got to happen sometime, why not now?” He gave the puppy’s head a little scratch, eyebrows raising when she gave a little annoyed huff. It was only then that her snout caught his attention, her human muttering a curse as he rubbed at the mark with a curse. “Again? You better tell Eric that if he wants to let his female friends kiss you then he better make sure they’re not wearing lipstick first. I’m sick of having to scrub the stains off you.”

That giving him an idea, he picked up his phone.

Dani: You free tomorrow night?

Eric: No plans yet… you have something in mind?

 _Do I?_ His thumbs hovered over the keypad for a moment before he finally decided to just go for it.

Dani: Fancy going for a couple of drinks? I need to blow off some steam

Eric: What happened to I’m never drinking again? ;) I guess that’s code for ‘I need to fuck someone so I can stop thinking about him’

Dani: Well, I’ve already broken that one. I just need to get out because I’m going absolutely crazy here. It’s a good thing Snoopy can’t talk or she would have me committed

Eric: In that case I am definitely free and ready to be your wingman again ;)

Dani: Ugh you’re so annoying (but thank you)

Eric: That’s my job (you’re welcome)

As Dani turned out the lamp, he felt confident in the fact that there was no way it could turn out as badly as the last time.

 


	11. One of Those Nights

“Okay,” Eric clapped his brother on the back as they made their way to the bar, gesturing in an attempt to catch the pretty bartender’s attention, “Take two. Last time was a minor setback.”

_Oh god._ Scoffing, Dani grimaced. “Minor is a very poor choice of word there.”

“He’s eighteen, stop being so dramatic.”

Yes, because accidentally sleeping with your student was such a common and okay thing to happen. Dani merely shook his head with incredulity, deciding to just ‘ _laissez-faire’._ As his brother ordered whatever, the older man glanced around, relieved to find from his initial examination that he didn’t seem to know anyone present. _Certainly no students_ , he thought, which was always a good thing. As his gaze swept over the modest crowd, his eyes landed on a guy who seemed to stand out from the rest; tall and incredibly fair… and exactly what he was looking for. The man in question caught him looking and smiled, little creases forming at the corners of his strikingly blue eyes. Feeling a little more daring that he would usually allow himself to be, Dani actually smiled back at him before looking away.

 

Part one of the plan was certainly underway.

Having started, sensibly, on beer, that sense soon went out the window, only to be replaced by the bitter sting of hard liquor as they threw back shot after shot. Seeing as Dani had consumed a bit more alcohol recently than he was used to, it took a little bit longer for it to hit his system but when it did, the teacher could practically feel every last ounce of tension leave his body.

But it also meant that a trip to the bathroom was necessary. “I need to pee,” Dani groaned, announcing it quite unnecessary but, hey. He tried to at least pretend to be sure-footed as he hopped down from the stool. A happy drunk, as he’d learned quite early on in life, he giggled as he made his way down the seemingly never-ending flight of stairs to the bathroom. A song that he always switched off when it came on in the car began to play over the too-loud speakers and he hummed along, drumming his fingers against the rail in time with the beat. It wasn’t half as bad as he originally thought.

There was a short queue for the bathroom and, unsurprisingly, it didn’t annoy him half as much as it usually would, bobbing his head along to the soundtrack as he leaned against the cool tiles, waiting patiently for his turn. Once finished, Dani jogged back up the stairs, half swinging off the rail when he got to the top. That turned out to be a mistake, sending him right into the path of oncoming traffic. Next thing he knew, the wind was knocked out of him, his shirt now wet and cold.

“Fuck!”

“Oh god, I’m sorry!”

A large hand curled around his bicep and Dani looked at it before raising his eyes to see a pair of blue eyes staring down at him. _Oh, well I guess it isn’t a tragedy…_ “Don’t worry, it was my fault. Which is definitely why you should let me buy you another drink.”

It was transparent as fuck but the other man laughed, the sound easy and unremarkable. “I guess I should.”

The guy led the way to the bar, Dani catching Eric’s eye along the way as his brother was just about to strike up a conversation with a pretty brunette. The younger man arched and eyebrow and gave him a not so subtle nod of approval and, for once, Dani didn’t roll his eyes in response.

 

He was a lawyer- nothing sexy like human rights, just a regular probate lawyer- and the word alone was music to Dani’s ears. You didn’t tend to get many eighteen year old lawyers and, even if that were possible, he certainly didn’t care because he sure as he didn’t teach any of them. So when the guy (whose name, he was ashamed to admit, he’d forgotten to get but it mattered little anyway) suggested that they take things back to his apartment, Dani was all but out the door before the question had even fully left his mouth.

Truth be told, the encounter didn’t and was never going to set his world alight, but it was a good, solid fuck, even if Dani didn’t usually bottom. Unlike the last time, though he tried his very best not to think about that, there was no hanging about afterwards and he couldn’t bring himself to question why he really didn’t care.

Even as he pulled his clothes gingerly on, Dani didn’t feel awkward. Neither of them were under any illusions as to what it was, and that suited him down to the ground.

“Er,” the blond rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, “I was about to thank you for that but I realised I never got your name…”

“Dani, it’s Dani.”

Brilliant smile just as bright in the dim light, he shook Dani’s hand firmly. “Nice to meet you, Dani. I’m Mark.”

 

Dani: I hate myself and I hate you

Eric: Did it not go well? ;)

Dani: No, it went well. Just left MARK’S a couple of minutes ago

Eric: No… impossible.

Dani: POSSIBLE. Very, VERY possible

Eric: Dani…

Dani: Just got fucked in the ass by Mark, with a k. Lovely

Eric: You are literally the unluckiest person in the world

Dani: I KNOW. Now excuse me while I go home and cry

*

“What are you doing?” Sounding a lot more wary than she had intended, Roser tried not to look too outwardly shocked as she hovered by the kitchen table, surreptitiously glancing at the book.

Marc arched an eyebrow. “Uh, homework?”

_That’s what I thought._ It was surprising that she didn’t drop dead with the shock. “At nine o clock on a Friday night? Haven’t you got anything better to be doing?”

The answer to that was a resounding ‘no’. Tito and Alex had gone out with some friends under the guise of an overnight at the former’s (Tito was almost nineteen but Alex was still underage) but Marc had no notion of going with them, not exactly in the mood. He gave a shake of his head. “I’ve got more work to keep on top of this year and Misano is next weekend…”

“Miracles will never cease,” Roser chuckled, brushing her eldest’s hair affectionately, “I remember the days where we had to get Emilio to threaten not to let you race if you didn’t do your homework. I’m very proud of you.”

_Please don’t be proud of me, you have no idea…_ “Yeah, well I do actually want to graduate, I’ve realised. And I happen to like this class so I want to put in some effort.”

“Oh yeah? What is it?”

“Uh, biology.”

“Oh yes, you’ve always been good at that.”

He had to try very hard to hide the fact that he was cringing big time. _Some parts more than others…_ “Yeah, it’s interesting.”

“Well, I’ll leave you to it in case you change your mind. Keep up the good work, darling.” With a kiss to the top of his head, she disappeared, leaving him staring at the book in front of him, his momentum beginning to dwindle. After a couple of minutes of trying to get back into the swing of things, Marc leaned back in his chair. No, it was gone. He’d been trying his best not to think about the fact that he was at home alone with his parents on a Friday night but it was undeniably sad. Taking out his phone, he toyed with it for a moment before composing a message to his brother.

Marc: Changed my mind, where are you?

Alex: Jardin. Why, bored? ;)

Marc: As much as I hate to admit it, yes. I’m going to get changed and come meet you

Alex: Okay :) We’re moving about a bit but I’ll text you if we’re going elsewhere

Marc: You better! See you in a while

Alex: I will! See you soon, we’ll have a drink waiting ;)

*

They hadn’t moved by the time Marc got there and, as promised, there was a drink with his name on it waiting for him when he finally arrived. It was a slightly different crowd to, well, the last time, more of their own classmates than other friends. Most notably Maria, who Marc also knew from riding as well as class, a friend of hers that he vaguely recognised sitting next to her.

“Knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away,” Alex smirked, pushing the bottle of beer towards him.

Gratefully accepting it, Marc raised an eyebrow before taking a big gulp. “I tried, didn’t I? The road to hell _is_ paved with good intentions.”

“So no more good intentions?” Maria teased, more than familiar with how everything went herself.

“Nope,” he popped the ‘p’, “hasn’t gotten me anywhere so far.”

 

It soon became abundantly clear that Maria’s friend, Alba or Alma or whatever her name was, had him in her sights. At some point during the night, she’d ended up sat next to him, her thigh pressed against his as she chatted away to him. She was a beautiful girl, that was undeniable; her long dark hair fell in (unnatural) curls down to her hips almost, eyes big and brow and lips painted a deep purple. In fact, if he were actually attracted to women he had no doubt he would actually be enjoying her advances. But he wasn’t, and therefore it made him the slightest bit uncomfortable, thinking he was leading her on. Even when they moved to a different bar a couple of minutes down the road, he ended up with her hand clamped around his arm as she walked in her too-high heels, too polite and unwilling to hurt her feelings to tell her the truth.

Inside, it was far busier than where they’d been previously, barely enough room to make your way from one side of the bar to the other. For that reason, they decided to stick by the door they’d come in, sending one brave soul (Tito) and his helper (Alex) to the bar to fetch the drinks, paid for by Marc for their trouble.

They were long back when Alba (that was definitely her name, he was sure), hand on his thigh, leaned in, her perfume filling his nose as she lips hovered near his ear, asking if he was planning on staying much longer. With a shrug, Marc played oblivious and told her he was staying as long as Alex was, excusing himself to the bathroom so he wouldn’t have to see the look on her face.

The alcohol really seemed to hit him as he was making his way down the stairs, squeezing his eyes shut and tightening his grip on the rail as the cooler air hit him. Relieved when it wasn’t busy, Marc used the toilet quickly before going to wash his hands, running them through his hair in an attempt to make it behave. Leaning on the granite counter, Marc looked at himself properly in the mirror. Going out was always a bit of a conundrum. He enjoyed himself, of course, but there came a point when all of that began to wear off, no matter how much he wished it wouldn’t.

Shaking his head, he splashed some water on his face before heading back up again, needing to be around people so that he didn’t start to think too much. The crowd had thinned out the slightest bit so he made a bee-line for the bar, but never reached his destination.

“Marc?”

At first he thought it had been one of his friends, confused to turn and find that it was someone he was only vaguely familiar with, unsure as to where he knew him from. It wasn’t anything knew; there were thousands of faces that came and went in the paddock, ones that would recognise him even if he couldn’t quite place them. He was about to open his mouth to say hi when a proper look at the guy’s eyes sparked something in his memory, smile freezing where it was forming.

The other man looked even more alarmed than Marc felt. “Did you…”

“Did I what?” Marc finally managed to find his voice, brow furrowing until he realised why the other man looked so ill at ease. _Oh god._ “Is Dani here?” Looking around out of instinct, his heart began to hammer at the familiarity of it all.

“No, he’s not.”

“Oh.” Marc couldn’t quite label what he felt at hearing that, his feelings too much of a mess to work anything out. He saw Dani almost every day, but there was still a big difference between seeing him at school and seeing him _here_.

Dani’s brother hesitated for a moment, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “Do you have a minute to talk?”

“A-about what?”

Placing a hand on the younger man’s forearm, Eric directed them out of the way of oncoming traffic. “I just want to make sure that everyone’s on the same page.”

“I’m pretty sure that I’m on the same page.”

“I just wanted to check because I wasn’t so sure. There’s a lot at stake here for Dani…”

Marc’s jaw clenched, arms crossing almost automatically. “I’m well aware of that, thanks”

“I don’t believe you’d do anything to hurt him but, well…”

“Well?”

“Look,” the older man sighed, visibly uncomfortable, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this but I think it’s best you know.”

“Know what?” Whatever it was, it wasn’t good, Marc could just feel it in his bones.

“Dani’s seeing someone.”

_I knew it. I knew it._ Trying not to let how that revelation made him want to punch something or someone show, he pursed his lips. It wasn’t as if he had a right to be upset, they’d had one night (and the following morning) together; there was no way, logically, that he should feel such a searing stab of jealousy. “Good for him,” Marc tried his best to sound sincere and not bitter, “It’s great if he’s happy. And you don’t have to worry, we’re on the same page.”

Before the guy could say another word, Marc turned and walked in the opposite direction, right back to the sanctuary of his table and friends. Alex raised an eyebrow in silent question at him but it was Alba who noticed his drastic change in mood and voiced her concern.

The Moto2 rider didn’t and wouldn’t answer that. Instead, he said “I think I’m actually going to get out of here…”

“The not-so-veiled invitation was very willingly accepted.

 


	12. Seeing Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Not too sure about this one but it's necessary :/
> 
> After posting this I realised I made a massive mistake by not reading the last chapter so I have edited it now and it's slightly different. Apologies!

Possibly one of the highlights of the school year was the annual teachers versus students charity football match. Or, at least, for Marc it was. His talent for being unnaturally good at everything he tried his hand at left the other students, the teachers even more so, feeling more than a little bit exasperated. Although, he wasn’t sure whether it was actually a natural ability or whether the fact that he had a competitive streak and need to win five miles wide that meant, when it came to sports, that he often triumphed. Either way, Marc didn’t particularly care.

Of course, the fact that Dani just had to play for the teachers made this year’s event a lot more interesting…

Marc spotted him instantly from across the pitch, chatting easily with Mr Lorenzo as they warmed up together. As much as he tried to deny it, the sight of his biology teacher in his football kit was a huge turn on, so much so that it was borderline problematic. And when he stretched his hamstrings…

Alex had just been conversing with their goalkeeper, Javí, when he looked around in search of his brother. It didn’t take him long to spot him, and when he did his stomach began to sink. Distracted Marc rarely spelled anything good, never mind when the cause of his distraction was Dani Pedrosa, his former lover/ current teacher he was supposed to be trying to move on from. And moving on definitely did not include ogling him as he loosened his muscles before a match. With the entirety of the school watching.

The most alarming thing was that, despite his assurances to the contrary and the weeks that had passed, Marc was clearly not over the older man, no more than he had been the day they found out what exactly Dani was to them. That look of longing on his brother’s face as he watched their teacher, the bitten lip and dark eyes, was possibly more worrying than anything Marc had said or done so far, and for a moment Alex contemplated whether or not it was his place to intervene. But only for a moment.

It was too dangerous. This had to stop before someone got seriously burned, and Alex knew that he had to do something, as much as he hadn’t previously wanted to.

“I need you in my wall, you’ve got the height to-“

Excusing himself from the conversation with the goalkeeper after promising that he would be back, he jogged over to where his brother was. “Marc,” the older boy looked up and Alex plastered his most convincing smile on his face as he wrapped an arm around his brother’s shoulders, steering him a little bit away from their teammates out of fear that someone would overhear.

“What’s up?” Marc frowned, clearly a little disorientated now that he was no longing drooling over Dani Pedrosa’s ass.

 _You poor idiot. It’s really not your fault but this can’t continue._ “We need to talk.”

“Right _now_? Kick-off is in like ten minutes, can’t it wait ‘til later?”

“No, it can’t. Marc…”

 _Oh god._ Brows knitting together, the older boy’s arms folded across his chest out of instinct, bracing himself for whatever bad thing was about to come. “What?”

“Marc,” sighing wearily, Alex shook his head, “I have something to tell you and I know you’re not going to like it but… Dani, he’s seeing someone.”

He honestly didn’t think he’d ever seen someone shut down so quickly in his entire life. The minute the words had left his mouth, Marc’s expression became completely blank, though his eyes- expressive as they always were- betrayed his hurt. Silence fell over them, and for a moment Alex was actually worried that his brother, who always had something to say, wouldn’t say anything.

“How do _you_ know?”

 _How do_ you _know??_ It wasn't exactly the answer Alex had been expecting and, had he known, it would have probably prevented him from saying anything in the first place. But there was no going back now. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Why,” Marc began, voice dripping with venom, “are you telling me _now_? You knew all this time.”

"I only did what I thought was best. I was trying not to hurt you..." Alex looked pointedly over at their biology teacher, who was now laughing loudly at Mr Lorenzo, who somehow had managed to end up on his ass. Marc, of course, followed his gaze. Except this time, he could barely manage to look at him for a second or two before feeling the need to look away again.

"You should have told me. The minute you found out. I had to find out from  _Dani's_ brother."

 _And now you won’t even look at me._ Squeezing the shorter boy’s shoulder in an attempt to fix that, Alex was only marginally relieved when he was successful. "Dani's brother? When-" 

“Captain! You planning on joining us at all?”

The question interrupted before Marc got a chance to say anything,which the older man thought was probably just as well. He'd never felt so betrayed by his brother, and the longer he stayed, the more likely he was to say something that he would really end up regretting. Without saying another word, Marc jogged off in the direction of his team, not even so much as sparing Alex a second glance. 

Frozen in place, Alex brought a hand to his face and scrubbed his eyes as he groaned. He’d forgotten that Marc had to lead the team.

*

In a unsurprising turn of events, Marc scored the students’ first goal after only five minutes of play. The shot had been incredibly unlikely, and it seemed like only by sheer force of will that it hit the back of the net, the referee (Mr Puig) allowing the goal as the captain was surrounded by his ecstatic teammates. Marc, hardly managing to smile, was eager to move on with play, hoping to vent his frustration in the best way: completely annihilating their teachers.

It seemed to be working too; approaching half time they were up three goals to one, though only one of those came from Marc’s boot. The teachers’ only scorer had been none other than Dani Pedrosa, whose skill with a football was apparently almost as good as his former lover’s. The match, unfortunately, wasn’t enough to keep Marc distracted and, far too soon, his brother’s words began to circle his mind once again.

Now every time he looked at Dani, he couldn’t help but feel sick at the thought of him being touched by someone else, someone that wasn’t _him_. Someone else making him laugh the way Marc used to. Someone else being treated to waffles the morning after. Someone else being fucked by him… 

It was too much, and the fact that his brother- his best friend- had known and kept this from him only made him feel worse. He knew his biology teacher couldn’t be blamed for moving on but that didn’t mean it didn’t make him irrationally angry. So much so that, if he had been on the bike right then, he would have either ended up in the gravel or setting a new circuit record, and it was a very fine line between the two. As it was, however, the game continued around him and they couldn’t have been more than five minutes into the second half when Dani was in front of him, having been fed the ball in a cross from Mr Crutchlow. At that angle, there was no chance that the keeper was going to reach it, so the responsibility fell directly at the captain’s feet.

Marc responded in the only way he knew how in that moment: by doing everything in his power to keep Dani-fucking-Pedrosa from scoring against him. He slid into a tackle that, nine times out of ten, he would have executed perfectly.

But this was that one time.

In hindsight, it was a stupid move. He was far too emotional, too angry to have even contemplated that tackle, especially not on Dani of all people. But it was too late, the damage was done. Marc missed the ball completely, the whole world seeming to stop as his biology teacher went to ground, the only sound audible above the thumping of his heartbeat in his ears the shrill blowing of Puig’s whistle.

It was all colours; the green of the grass, the blue of Dani’s jersey as he hunched over and clutched his ankle… the red card being waved right in his face by an absolutely furious Mr Puig. Jaw dropping open as he began to understand what had just happened, to understand what he had just done, Marc was on his knees in a flash, staring right into the seriously pained face of the man he liked so much.

“Dani, I’m so so-“

But he never got the chance to apologise. Just as his eyes met the older man's, the pain and confusion in Dani's eyes feeling like a stab to the stomach, a pair of arms gripped him from behind and hauled him to his feet and, before he even registered what was happening, Marc was being marched in the opposite direction by his brother.

“Marc, what did you _do_.”

There was something in his brother’s tone that made the older man snap, stopping in his tracks and pulling his arm from Alex’s grip. His blood began to boil inside him, teeth gritted so hard that he was surprised they didn’t crack. In all his eighteen years, Marc couldn’t ever remember feeling so completely enraged.

“Don’t you _dare,”_ he spat, patience well and truly spent, “This is _your_ fault. All of this is your fault.” Without waiting for a response, only catching a glimpse of the truly shocked expression on the younger man’s face, Marc stormed off in the direction of the school, completely unsure of what was going to happen now.

 


	13. A Darker Shade of Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long! Thank you JustLyra for pushing me <3 ;)

It all happened so fast that for a moment Dani couldn’t believe what had happened.

One minute the ball was at his feet and the next he was on the floor, clutching his ankle in pain. It was all very confusing, especially because it had been _Marc_ who was standing in front of him, and Marc wouldn’t dream of putting in a tackle like that on him, would he? But then he heard his name, and he didn’t have to look up to figure out who’d just uttered it. Even if he hadn’t recognised the voice, so completely helpless, the fact that the boy had called him ‘ _Dani’_ and not ‘Mr Pedrosa’ said it all.

“I’m so so-“

The teacher barely had the chance to look up before Marc was being pulled away by Alex, the latter looking as if he’d seen a ghost and Dani could only blink as he watched his former lover retreat, wondering what the actual fuck that had been about. He was sure he hadn’t done anything to upset him- well, not _recently_ anyway. Nothing that would warrant the younger man attempting to break his ankle in a disastrous tackle…

His train of thought, though he could barely keep it above the pain, was interrupted by Alberto crouching down in front of him, obscuring his view of Marc. “Dani, are you okay? Do you think it’s broken?” Though he sounded completely sympathetic, his questions were hard and clipped, and for a moment Dani found himself pitying Marc.

“I don’t know.” In an attempt to check, he flexed his ankle, hissing and clutching it even tighter when that proved to be a very poor choice. “I can’t tell.”

“Right, well we need to get you to the hospital anyway. Jorge?” It wasn’t until the Castellano teacher replied that Dani even noticed he was hovering right by them, “Can you drive Dani to the hospital? I’ll meet you there in a bit, I just have some… _things_ to take care of first.”

 _Fuck_. He panicked. The principal interrogating an obviously very pissed off Marc Marquez wasn’t at all what he needed right now. And even if he weren’t afraid of what his former lover and student might say, it still felt… wrong. “He’s a good kid. It was a mistake.”

“No, Dani. That was classic Marc Marquez: reckless. Don’t worry, I’m going to deal with him.”

Crouching forward, partly because he felt like he was about to be sick and partly to hide his terror from his boss, Dani tried his best to breathe.

He was so fucked.

*

“What the actual fuck was that?!”

Despite finally managing to find the two who had departed the scene of the crime so quickly- or rather one, the other still very notably still missing- Tito, was no less relieved. If the look of pure guilt and regret on the other man’s face was anything to go by, he had a feeling he knew what happened and his stomach sank even further, if that was even possible.

“Remember what we discussed a week or two ago? Well, I told Marc…”

 _I knew it. I knew it!_ Tito found himself having to take a deep breath to keep him from completely losing his cool, eyes shutting tightly. It only partly worked. “Why the fuck would you do that?! Now of all times! What, were you wondering when he could inflict the most damage and decided now would be a good time or something?”

Placing a hand on the other man’s arm, Alex urged him to be quiet. It probably wouldn’t be long before Puig came calling and the last thing any of them, especially Marc, needed was to arouse even more suspicion. “It felt like I had to. He was… _staring_. It was so obvious and I had to stop it. Although it turned out he already knew…”

“He _what_?”

“Apparently… _you-know-who_ ’s brother told him. That anger was mostly directed at me I think. He felt betrayed that I didn’t tell him in the first place.”

Dragging a hand through his hair, Tito sighed wearily as he slumped against the wall. Absolutely _perfect_. “You shouldn’t have told him. We both agreed that not telling him was the right thing to do, and for a good reason. God only knows what’s going to happen now. Mr Pedrosa looked seriously hurt, and Puig is going to want answers. Marc might even get suspended…” Even though he wasn’t directly involved, he felt sick so he could only imagine what all of this had been like for Marc. “He’s in fucking love with him, Alex. It’s high time we all stop trying to deny it.”

It still baffled Alex. How could they fall so hard for each other so quickly? It seemed like Marc was a goner from the moment he went home with Dani that night, but he wasn’t sure if it was love or infatuation and the circumstances that was really at play here. “I-“

“You can stop talking about me now. Whatever it was you were saying.”

Marc appeared out of nowhere, nearly given both boys a heart attack in the process. His kit was haphazardly stuffed into his bag, part of his jersey still hanging out, and he now wore the clothes he had been wearing before this whole fiasco had happened. The most notably thing, however, was the very noticeable puffiness of his eyes, which now seemed completely hollow.

“Well, we were hardly going to discuss the weather, were we? What happens now?”

“Puig is going to want to talk to me, so I suppose I’ll go and find him. Then I need to see Dani.”

A worried look passing between the other two men, Alex and Tito could only watch as Marc stalked off in the direction of the principal’s office. There would be no stopping him now.

_God help us…_

*

“Can I help you?”

Under normal circumstances, Marc would have put on his best smile in an attempt to charm his way in, but that seemed incredibly inappropriate given what had transpired. So, instead, he resorted to just hoping for the best. “I’m looking for Dani Pedrosa, he came in not too long ago with an injured ankle.”

Looking him up and down, the nurse’s eyebrows knitted together. “Are you family?”

 _Christ no. Don’t need that extra complication, it’s already bad enough thank you very much._ “No, I’m his student and- I guess- the reason he’s here in the first place. I never got a chance to apologise and, well, I really need to. I feel terrible.”

Considering that for a moment, the blond woman chewed on her lip. “All I can do is ask if he’ll see you? Other than that it’s out of my hands.”

It wasn’t exactly surprising; in fact, he’d half been expecting to be immediately turned away and this development had his heartrate steadily increasing. Throat a little dry, Marc nodded. “That’s great, thanks.” And so the nurse disappeared, leaving him there, leaning against the counter for the support that he so desperately needed. Sighing, Marc asked himself what he was doing. Dani certainly wouldn’t want to see him after he had potentially broken his leg, and even on the off chance that he did, Marc would probably have to contend with Mr Puig too. _Again_.

He wished more than anything that he could go back in time. Not even to that morning, right back to the moment that he and Dani first laid eyes on each other and stop himself from making one of the biggest mistakes of his life. Because, as great as it had been, it most certainly wasn’t worth all the damage that had been cause as a result, all the hurt and paranoia that it caused.

For a moment, Marc found himself contemplating just walking out of there, going home and pretending this never happened. He was just about to do so when she returned, the smile on her pretty face making his heart drop to the floor. _Well, fuck_.

“He’s still waiting for an x-ray so he says it’s fine. I can take you to him.”

Sure he looked far from pleased by this turn of events, Marc nodded meekly, giving her his thanks as he followed behind. Dani probably hated him, that was the reality and that realisation caused a stabbing pain in his chest. It was wrong, it was all wrong. And, as much as he’d tried to insist on it earlier, he knew it wasn’t his brother’s fault.

Still lost in his self-flagellation, they turned into A&E far too soon, Marc’s eyes instantly meeting Dani’s as they made the short distance to the older man’s examination bed at the end of the room. The biology teacher looked as surprised to see him as Marc was surprised to be there, his ankle elevated and covered by an ice pack.

“Now, there you go.”

Giving her his thanks almost robotically, his eyes remained fixed on the other man’s, though Dani’s were on the retreating form of the nurse. “How are you feeling?”

“Oh,” attention returning to his student, Dani frowned, “Okay, I guess. They don’t think it’s broken but I have to get an x-ray just to be sure. But just some ligament damage I think is all.”  

 _Just_ some ligament damage? There shouldn’t have been any damage, was all Marc could think, feeling indescribably guilty. “God, Dani, I’m _so_ sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. Never.”

Dani would be lying if he said he didn’t desperately want to ask what had happened, he knew he couldn’t. it was neither the time nor the place. “I know. That’s why I told Mr Puig to go easy on you. I hope he took my advice.”

“Think he expected me to try and defend myself. He was so surprised when I didn’t that I think he lost a bit or momentum. I’m suspended for two days.”

“That’s him going easy on you? Two days is harsh, especially because it’s not like you just randomly decided to do it, it was a _football_ match.”

“I guess he was trying to send a message,” Marc shrugged awkwardly, “It doesn’t matter anyway, I deserve it.”

The frustration of not being able to speak freely made him feel like screaming. “Marc-“

“What are you doing here?”

“Jorge…”

Blood turning cold, Marc closed his eyes for the briefest of moment, taking a deep breath before turning around to face the Castellano teacher, whose glare could have killed him ten times over. “Mr Lorenzo. I just came to apologise to Mr Pedrosa-“

“You shouldn’t be here. If Mr Puig-“

“If Mr Puig what?” getting annoyed, Dani arched an eyebrow at his colleague, feeling an inexplicable need to defend the younger man despite his actions putting him there in the first place, “Saw that he was apologising? Taking responsibility for his actions? Surely that is what he should want.”

 _You’re a good teacher. You’d be an amazing one if I hadn’t waltzed into your life and ruined everything._ Biting his lip, Marc tried to blink back the tears that were beginning to sting his eyes. He needed to get out of there, he knew. Being close to Dani was hard enough without it being under the watchful eye of a teacher who clearly didn’t like him very much. “I- I should go. I really am sorry, Mr Pedrosa, you have no idea.”

“I know, Marc. You didn’t mean it, so don’t feel too guilty. I’ll be fine and I’ll see you in class in two days’ time.”

“Actually,” Marc bit his lip, “you won’t. It’s a race weekend.”

“Oh, okay. Well, then I guess I should say good luck and don’t land yourself here next to me,” lips twitching upwards, he couldn’t help but smile when Marc finally cracked and chuckled at that.

“I’ll try my best.”

Frowning as the student said his final goodbyes and left, Jorge couldn’t figure it out. If he had been in Dani’s position he would have been absolutely livid, and yet his colleague acted like the boy had given him a fucking papercut. “If you can let almost getting your leg broken go like that then you’re a better man than I am.”

 _Please, just let it go._ The Spanish Inquisition was the last thing he bloody needed right now, on top of everything else. “He’s just a kid-“ _god, that sounds so wrong_ “It was an accident, Jorge. You’ve never made a mistake like that? Because I sure have.”

“No, I haven’t.”

Okay, then. “Yeah,” shrugging, Dani winced when he attempted to roll his ankle, “that doesn’t really surprise me to be honest…”

 


	14. Sleeping Satellite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I blame you for the moonlit sky and the dream that died with the eagles' flight._   
>  _I blame you for the moonlit nights, when I wonder why are the seas still dry._   
>  _Don't blame this sleeping satellite..._

_Fuck_.

  
Spotting the all too familiar black Merc parked outside his house, Marc seriously contemplated turning around and going elsewhere, his stomach twisting as he cut the engine. But he would only be avoiding the inevitable, and if he’d learned anything from today it was that it only made things infinitely worse. Sighing, Marc let his head fall forward momentarily, bracing himself before getting out of the car with as much enthusiasm as someone walking to their execution. He probably might as well have been.  
They didn’t immediately descend upon him the moment he opened the door, which was as surprising as it was a relief, leaving him to seek them out in the kitchen, resignation growing with every step he took. Voices grew louder the closer he got to his destination, frowning when they appeared to be talking about something menial. It almost made him stop. Almost.

  
“Marc.” His mother was smiling, what on earth was happening?

  
Reaching out for the door frame, Marc frowned. “H-hi.”

  
“You’re home late.”

  
They didn’t know- they really didn’t know. “Where’s Alex?”

  
“Went straight to Tito’s after school. You weren’t with them?”

  
But… Looking at his manager and team boss, Marc couldn’t help but feel utterly perplexed. If Emilio had just decided to pop by, it was one hell of a coincidence. Although with his recent track record with luck, it probably shouldn’t have surprised him one bit. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

  
The three adults exchanging a look at that, Roser made her way over from where she had been leaning against the counter to put a reassuring hand on her son’s arm, bringing him closer to them. “What is it? Has something happened?”

  
_You have no idea…_ Marc almost bit through his lip, knowing that he had to just say it but struggling desperately to do so. “I got suspended.”

  
Silence. And then more silence. In fact, he was surprised a tumbleweed didn’t suddenly blow past, his mother looking horrified, his father utterly perplexed, and his manager confused, their mouths opening and closing several times. He had never been one for getting into trouble in school, that much was true, but this reaction did little to help his growing anxiety.

  
“What did you do?” Emilio was the first to recover.

  
“I- We had that charity football match today and I made a bad tackle… I sent one of my teachers to the hospital.”

  
“MARC.”

  
“What? Which one?”

  
“Is he okay?”

  
“I know,” he cringed, “I didn’t mean it but I was reckless. It was my biology teacher, Mr Pedrosa, and I think he’s okay. That’s where I’ve been, I went to the hospital to apologise and see if he was okay. They don’t think it’s broken…”

  
“Oh my god, Marc! What were you thinking?” Roser paled, completely astounded by what she was hearing, “You could have seriously hurt him!”

  
“I think the problem was that he wasn’t thinking, Rose. Marc-“

  
“I know. I know, okay? You don’t know how sick I feel that I hurt him. You don’t know-“ _You don’t know anything. You can’t know anything. You don’t KNOW._

  
A pair of hands firmly grasped his arms and Marc looked up into the familiar blue eyes of the man who had been there with him through thick and thin, the man who didn’t have to take a chance on him but did, and felt a little bit calmer. “Marc, calm down.” He tried, but wasn’t exactly successful, his stomach once again feeling as if it would be soon relieved of its contents. “How about we go outside and have a chat? Okay?” Nodding, Marc allowed himself to be lead towards the door, not looking up to catch the concerned expressions of his mother and father. He couldn’t, right now. He just… couldn’t.

  
It wasn’t particularly cold outside, but Marc shivered, that one little involuntary action enough to send him completely over the edge. Much to his manager’s surprise, he completely broke down, and his knees would have probably given way beneath him were it not for the fact that Emilio was there to catch him, holding him tight against his chest as the younger man began to sob.

  
This was a side of Marc that he’d never- thankfully- seen before, and for a moment Emilio didn’t know how to react, because this wasn’t just making a mistake and accidentally injuring a teacher, this was something that had been building for a while. This was desperation. “It’s okay,” he tried to assure him, stroking his hair tenderly, “It’s okay.”

  
But it wasn’t, Marc knew that much. It was far from okay. Everything was… wrong, and he had absolutely no clue how to fix it, the knowledge that he would never be able to tell anyone that might know how to fix only making him feel so much worse, so much more alone. Although maybe there was something he could say, maybe that would make him feel better…

  
“I’m gay.”

  
The older man froze momentarily, that revelation enough to throw him for a loop, recovering quickly enough so as not to exacerbate the situation rather than helping. Oh, Marc… “Hey, that’s nothing to cry about,” he assured him, grip tightening when Marc continued to sob, “There’s nothing wrong with being gay.”

  
“I f-feel so lost.”

  
And none of us noticed just how much. “I’ve got you, don’t worry. You don’t need to feel that way anymore. I’m so sorry, Marc. I’m so sorry you felt like that.”

  
“Nobody knows what it’s like. Nobody understands. I love him and-“ Cursing himself for saying more than he intended, Marc tightened his fists in his manager’s shirt, the front almost completely soaked by his tears. _Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck._

  
Eyes closing momentarily, Emilio felt his stomach knot. “Are you seeing someone?”

  
“No,” he choked out, at least able to answer that one truthfully, “Not anymore. Well, not really at all. But I wanted to, I wanted to so bad…”

  
“Okay,” inhaling deeply, Emilio nodded, “Okay. What do you think about getting out of here for a while? Let’s go for a drive and get something to eat and we’ll figure it all out, together. You’re going to be fine, Marc. This doesn’t change anything, I promise.”

  
He knew that wasn’t completely true, but still Marc gave a weak nod. He needed all the help he could get.

  
*  
Jaw dropping at the sight of his brother sitting in the waiting room, pair of crutches carefully balanced against the seat next to him, Eric charged forward. “Dani! What the hell happened to you?”

  
Eyes flicking to Jorge, who had stayed with him through the whole ordeal despite his insistence that he didn’t need to, Dani winced as he pulled himself to his feet, glad the nurse had adjusted the height of the crutches. “Football accident.”

  
“Football accident?” the younger man’s eyebrows practically disappeared into his hairline, “What kind of football accident?”

  
“The kind that happens when you’re playing football.”

  
“Dani-“

  
“We’ll discuss it later,” Dani dismissed him, turning his attention to his fellow teacher, “Thank you so much for today, Jorge. You really didn’t need to stay.”

  
Obviously not sensing anything out of the ordinary, he clapped the injured man on the back. “It’s nothing, really. I’m just glad you’re okay. And I’ll miss you these next three weeks,” Jorge smiled, but it faded when a sudden outburst from Dani’s brother caused him to almost jump a foot into the air.

  
“Three weeks?”

  
Ignoring that, Dani said his goodbyes to his colleague, going their separate ways once they got to the car park, for which he was very thankful. Jorge was very nice, and his dry wit had put a smile on his face more than once during the agonising waiting process, but Dani would rather not have him anywhere near them when he told Eric the details of what happened. Surprisingly, his younger brother actually managed to wait until they were in the car and on the road to press the matter any furthers. Miracles would never cease.

  
“So, are you going to tell me what happened?”

  
Can I not? “We had that charity football match today, I got injured. There’s not much more to it than that.”

  
Eric turned his attention momentarily away from the road to raise an eyebrow at his brother. “You’re a horrible liar, Dani. Did anyone ever tell you that?”

  
“That’s what happened!”

  
“Maybe, but how did it happen?"

  
Sighing, Dani suddenly decided that the cars passing on the other side of the road were very interesting. “Bad tackle.” For a moment, just a moment, he thought that his brother had accepted that. He was very wrong.

  
“It was _him_ , wasn’t it?”

  
“If by _‘him’_ you mean Marc, then yes. But it was an accident-“

  
“Why are you defending him? Christ, Dani! He sent you to the hospital, you’re out of work for three weeks because of him.” 

  
Gritting his teeth, though on some level he could understand, Dani glared at him. “He didn’t mean to do it.”

  
“You don’t get it, you sound like a battered man.”

  
_What the fuck?!_ “Are you fucking kidding me? This is absolutely nothing like that. He’s not fucking abusing me, he mistimed a tackle and I just so happened to be on the receiving end.”

  
But, of course, Eric wasn’t having any of that. Huffing, he shook his head to himself, brows knitting together as everything began to come together in his head, that startling realisation making his stomach sink. _Fuck_. “He did it on purpose.”

  
“Have you not listened to a word I said?”

  
“I know he did it on purpose. And I know why.”

  
Not even capable of hazarding a guess at what the younger man might be talking about, Dani frowned. “I think you’re delusional but explain.”

  
Eric’s fingers tightened around the wheel as he brought the car to a stop a red light, sighing before turning to meet the expectant gaze of his brother. “He thinks you’re seeing someone else. He’s jealous.”

  
_What_? “But I’m not. Why would he think that?”

  
“Because I told him you were.”

  
It took a moment for that to completely compute, the lights changing to green again in the interim and more than one car behind them beeping out of impatience. “You… what?”

  
“I was only trying to help.”

  
_Oh my god._ His first reaction was absolute astonishment, but that soon gave way to anger, bubbling inside him and dangerously close to spilling over. “How could you? You had absolutely no right!”

  
“I did what I thought was best in the circumstances-"

  
“I couldn't figure it out, you know. But now it makes so much fucking sense. You did this. Marc may have hurt me but it was your doing, not his. Are you happy now?” he spat, experiencing anger that he'd never before felt in his life. It was worse than anger, though. It was betrayal. “Is this what you wanted? Were you so fucking afraid that I would break down and fuck him again that you had to do whatever it took to stop me? I wouldn’t have touched him, even though I'd love nothing more than to fuck him against the nearest wall until he could take no more-"

  
“Dani, stop.”

  
“You don't get to make these decisions for me, Eric. It's none of your fucking business.”

  
Unable to keep from biting his tongue any longer, something inside of Eric snapped. “It is my business. You're my brother and I don't want to see you lose your job- or worse-because of some massive mistake.”

  
On some level, he was right, of course. But the way he went about things was far more than he was willing to forgive at the moment, especially since it could have landed him with a broken leg. “It's my mistake to make,” he finally managed, feeling utterly emotionally drained, “I don't want to hear from you until I make contact again

  
No. “Dani-"

  
“I fucking mean it, Eric. I mean it.” 


	15. Who's Gonna Drive You Home?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _You can't go on_   
>  _Thinking nothing's wrong_   
>  _Who's gonna drive you home tonight?_

“Here’s to two in a row.”

Marc could certainly drink to that, beaming as he clinked glasses with his friends before taking a large gulp, his face contorting ever so slightly at the less than wonderful taste. “Cheers. I’m just thankful I managed to keep it upright this time.” That was a lie, of course. While not crashing once in two race weekends was quite astonishing for him, getting on the top step of the podium to races in succession was desperately needed. With his less than stellar form lately, it was vital that he get at least one good result, not only for his own confidence but to keep the sponsors happy too. And that was what he’d done, and then some.

“I wouldn’t think you would have a problem keeping it up.”

 _For fuck sake._ Cheeks turning a rather bright shade of red, Marc pointedly ignored that one, cursing Maria for deciding it was a good idea to bring her along again. The last time Marc had laid eyes on her was when they awkwardly went their separate ways after their drunken backseat escapades- which would have been top of his list of regrets were it not for the obvious- eternally grateful that she attended a private school and giving no thought to the fact that they might see each other again. And yet there she was, her eyes locked on him again as she grinned and tossed what was probably her newly-highlighted hair over her shoulder.

“It’s a shame Alex couldn’t make it tonight.” _Moving swiftly on…_

“Mmm, he’s still a bit sore from his crash so he needed to rest. He was devastated though.”

“Oh, the poor thing!” Her hand came to rest on his arm, and Marc cursed himself, “I watched the race and it looked very nasty.”

 _I’m gay. I’m gay. I’m gay. I’m GAY._ “It could have been worse, he’s just a little bit roughed up, is all. He’s probably milking it a bit if I’m honest, got our poor mother waiting on him hand and foot.”

“What he needs is a nice girl who’ll look after him,” she practically purred, “just like every other rider.”

 _Sorry Alex._ Feigning ignorance, Marc raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Great, I’ll tell him you offered.”

“Oh no, I-“

“I’m just going to get another drink…”

“But… you have one.”

*

Finally managing to nab a spot at the bar, Dani turned to face his colleague, frowning when he found that he was looking in the opposite direction. “Jorge? _Jorge_.”

Jumping slightly, the other man flashed him an apologetic smile before rattling off his usual order to the barman, hand coming to rest on Dani’s shoulder as he leaned forward so that he could actually be heard. “Sorry about that. Looks like we’re not the only ones who had this idea…”

Following his colleague’s line of vision, Dani’s stomach all but dropped to the floor. _Why does this keep happening to me??_ “Should we go somewhere else?”

“I thought things were okay between you and Marquez?”

 _WHAT._ Dani barely managed to question that, words getting partially caught in his throat.

“You know, after the football incident? You were a lot more level headed than I would have been in those circumstances.”

Relief flooding through him, he reached out to take the bottle of beer from the barman, quietly muttering his thanks before taking a large gulp. “Oh, I’d actually completely forgotten about it, sorry. It was an accident and I’m not going to hold a grudge against a student.”

Arching an eyebrow, Jorge clinked his bottle against Dani’s. “You must be a saint. No matter how hard you try, there are some things that you just can’t help.”

He certainly knew better than to even react to that one, deciding to let it go for his own sanity. It would be fine, wouldn’t it? He and Marc were able to sit in the same room every day, a couple of hours in a pub surely wouldn’t be any different? It was what Dani told himself, anyway. He didn’t even have to look in that direction…

But that was never going to happen.

*

Returning from the bathroom, that mercifully was on the opposite side to those he was actively trying to avoid, Dani couldn’t help but frown when he saw Jorge chatting with a pretty redhead, cheeky smirk on his face as she laughed at something he’d said. Feeling rather uncomfortable, he had no choice but to return nevertheless, hoping his new friend wasn’t the type to cheat on his fiancé while he was at home minding their son.

The woman looked up as he approached, greeting him with a deep ruby smile. Jorge turned upon seeing that, beckoning him closer. “Dani, this is Katarina. Katarina, this is my colleague, Dani.”

“Nice to meet you, Dani.”

“Nice to meet you, too. Do you two know each other?”

“No,” she chuckled, “we just got talking while I was waiting to order. So, you’re a teacher too?”

It was only then that Dani came to the startling realisation that Jorge had no intention of cheating on Ricky, this woman was clearly for his benefit alone, which was as baffling as it was unwelcome. Surely he’d mentioned his sexuality to the other man at least _once_ , even in passing? Or at the very least shown no interest whatsoever in the opposite sex? “Yeah, I am. Biology.”

“Oh, so you’re into experiments then?”

Well, if he genuinely hadn’t known, there was absolutely no way that Dani could break the news now, not without mortally offending this woman, anyway. Hopefully if they chatted for a bit she would take the hint that he wasn’t interested and disappear so that he could murder his friend. Hopefully…

*

“Teacher alert…”

Head snapping up, pulse beginning to race, Marc looked around to see for himself, wincing when he did so too quickly and his head began to spin. Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, he opened them again once the dizziness had subsided, just in time to see Mr Lorenzo waving to Dani and a mystery woman before making for the door. Tito’s eyes, having seen what he had seen, instantly narrowed on him, waiting for what they believed would be an inevitable breakdown. They would be disappointed.

Instead of having to swallow a lump in his throat, Marc instead had to struggle to get breath into his lungs, succumbing almost instantly to uncontrollable laughter. No doubt his brother and friend thought that he’d finally lost the plot completely. But he hadn’t, it was just genuinely hilarious; as if Dani was trying so hard to find someone that was his opposite that he had resorted to chatting up a red-haired, ruby lipped _woman_. A woman who, Marc knew, would never in a million years be able to satisfy Dani the way that Marc had satisfied him. For one night, sure, it might be okay, especially with the lights out, but he was certain it wouldn’t leave a lasting impression. Certainly not enough to want to do it again.

“Is he okay?” Alba queried, eyebrows raised in concern as she observed him from a safe distance.

“He’s fine,” Tito answered, though he wasn’t quite convinced himself, “Isn’t that right, Marc?”

Finally getting a hold of himself enough to answer, he nodded as he wiped away the tears that had begun to trickle down his cheeks with the sleeve of his top. “Fine. I think I need to get another drink.”

His friend, unsurprisingly, stumbled as he stood, and Tito got an arm around him just in time to prevent any potential injury. “I think you’ve had enough for a little while, Marc.”

“I’m _fine_. I’m just going to have one more and then I’ll stop, promise.”

Not entirely convinced by that, Tito merely nodded, deciding that if Marc was determined to go to the bar he would go with him. And the fact that he wasn’t currently the steadiest on his feet was the least of his worries. The last thing either of them needed right now was for Marc to go anywhere near Dani and his female company. That could potentially- probably- be disastrous for all involved. “Right, come on then.”

*

“What the fuck is he doing?”

Straining to hear what he’d muttered under his breath, Katarina frowned. “Sorry?”

Snapping out of his trance, Dani blinked diverted his attention back to her. “Sorry, it’s just one of my students. He’s not… looking too good.”

“Which one?” Following his gaze, her eyebrows practically disappeared into her hairline when she saw the boy leaning with one hand against the wall, clearly fighting off an _episode_ as she liked to call it. “Is that _Marc Marquez_?”

 _Why am I not surprised that you know of him?_ “The Motorcycle rider? No, but he looks like him, doesn’t he? I think I’m going to have to go and check if he’s okay…”

“Oh, okay. I suppose you should. I’ll wait here.”

Giving her a reassuring smile, Dani tried his best to hide the fact that he really didn’t want to do this, that every inch of his body was warning him not to go near Marc. But, above anything personal, it still felt like his job to make sure that he was okay. The short walk took nowhere near as long as Dani would have liked, and before he knew it he was standing behind the younger man, Tito by his side.

“Marc.” Marc spun so quickly at the sound of his teacher’s voice that he lost his balance, and Dani had to reach out and catch him, steadying him against his chest. _Right, straight for the jugular it is then…_

“ _Dani_.”

 _Please don’t look at me like that._ “I think you might have had a bit too much to drink.”

“Funny,” Tito grimaced at his friend, “I said that too.”

“’m fine. Just celebrating, I won two races in a row!”

“Well, as happy as I am that you came through them both uninjured, I think it’s time that you went home. Is Alex here?”

“Alex is injured. It was his turn this weekend. I think he’s laying it on thick though.”

Eyes locking with Marc’s momentarily, pupils blown and not entirely focused, all Dani could do was sigh. This was bad, this was very bad. He was definitely going to regret this. “Get your stuff. I’m taking you home.”

Marc’s eyes narrowed at that, and he tried to pull out of his teacher’s grasp but to no avail. “I’m fine. You don’t need to take me anywhere.”

He certainly wouldn’t if he didn’t have to. “Actually, I do. I’ll get in trouble if anything happens to you now that I’ve seen you.”

“Yes, you _will_ get in trouble if anything happens to him.”

The look he received from Tito told him that Marc’s friend certainly wasn’t referring to the rider falling and cracking his head on the ground and, although he knew he shouldn’t have reacted to that, Dani couldn’t help but grimace. The boy hardly thought that he would lay a hand on Marc in the state he was in, did he? If he wouldn’t when Marc was sober then he certainly wouldn’t when he was drunk, even if there was a possibility that he wouldn’t remember it tomorrow. “Nothing is going to happen to him, because I’m going to make sure he gets home safely. Let’s go, Marc.”

“’m I allowed to go with Dani?”

Tito hesitated momentarily, ultimately giving a resigned shrug. “It’s not my decision.”

 _Okay, so we’re doing this. Right._ “Make sure that he has everything he needs. I’m just going to grab my jacket and then I’ll meet you by the door. Do _not_ go anywhere.”

Once satisfied that they would do as they were told, Dani hesitated for a second longer before returning to the bar to grab his jacket, only then realising that Katarina was still waiting there for him.

“Is he okay?”

“Unfortunately, no. I’m sorry but I’m going to have to take him home, I can’t risk anything happening to him.”

“But surely that’s his problem? You didn’t force him to drink anything.”

“Yes, but I’ve seen the state he’s in. I can’t just turn a blind eye now. It’s been lovely speaking to you, enjoy the rest of your night.” Without giving her a chance to protest, he began to move in the direction of the door, relieved to find that the two students were already there waiting for him so that he wouldn’t have to go near the rest of them. If Marc called him Dani instead of Mr Pedrosa in front of his friends, well he’s not sure how he would explain that one. But it didn’t matter, Dani placed a hand firmly on Marc’s arm, relieving Tito of his duties.

“Ready to go?”

“Yep, all ready.”

_God, please give me strength…_

 


	16. Second Hand Emotion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _You must understand though the touch of your hand_   
>  _Makes my pulse react_   
>  _That it's only the thrill of boy meeting girl_   
>  _Opposites attract._   
>  _It's physical, only logical_   
>  _You must try to ignore that it means more than that..._
> 
> _-What's Love Got to do With it?_  
>  _Tina Turner_

Guiding Marc as best he can without laying an hand on him, not for very long at least, Dani was relieved when they finally reached his car, opening the door for the younger man to get in while all the while praying that he didn’t vomit all over the place. One Marc was safely inside, he took a breath and made his way around to the driver’s side. A quick rummage around in the backseat produced a plastic bag that, thankfully, he’d been too lazy to remove and he placed it in Marc’s lap once he’d managed to win the battle with his seatbelt.

“I’m not going to get sick,” said Marc with a roll of his eyes that immediately had him wincing afterwards and Dani couldn’t help the little laugh that escaped him.

“Yeah, well I’m as confident as you are so the bag stays.”

Saying nothing to that, his hands came to rest on top of the plastic, the crinkling beneath his finger tips the only sound as the other man started the engine. Traffic was practically non-existent at this hour, and so Dani easily navigated his way out onto the main road, pursing his lips when he still got caught at the first set of lights they came to. His elbow came to rest on the door, hand running through his hair a little harder than was strictly necessary before his eye was caught by his passenger frantically patting himself down.

Frowning, Dani shook his head to himself. Why did he had the feeling he was going to regret ever approaching Marc in the first place? Not for the first time in his life. “What did you leave behind?”

“Left my keys at home. I was meant to be staying at Tito’s tonight.”

Feeling a little ill himself now, all Dani could do was sigh. “Will Alex not be up?”

“Alex is injured, he’ll probably be asleep already.”

“Your parents?”

Lip caught between his teeth, Marc looked over at the older man, eyes unusually wide. “They’ll be asleep too. And if I wake them coming home like this then I’m not going to live to see nineteen.”

“I thought you were _fine_?” Dani quipped, trying to buy himself some time to think about what the fuck he was going to do now more than anything. His grip on the steering wheel tightened, glad for the distraction of the lights turning green once more.

“Yeah, well.”

_‘Yeah, well’._ “I guess I’m just going to have to attend your funeral then. I can’t take you back to mine, Marc. I shouldn’t have even come near you tonight in the first place.”

It wasn’t as if he couldn’t see where Dani was coming from, but… Turning his attention to the passenger window and away from the driver, Marc squinted at all the buildings, the lights they were passing by. “Please Dani,” he whispered, “I don’t want to have to go home and explain this one.”

Unable to believe that he was even considering this, Dani scoffed. “Yeah, well if I’m going to risk my career by taking you home with me then you better start explaining. Is this-“ he pinched the bridge of his nose, changing his approach, “this isn’t about what my brother told you, is it?”

“Was that her?”

_What?_ “Who?”

“The redhead.”

_Katarina?!_ “Marc,” he began, poking him very firmly in the shoulder when he refused to even look at him. It worked, eyes that were almost black locked with his and Dani probably shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was to see the sheer extent of the hurt they showed. “He _lied_. He wanted you to stay away from me, which I only found out after he collected me from the hospital. We haven’t spoken since then.”

Well, if that wasn’t a sobering thought. “Oh.” That was all his surprise would allow him to say. _Oh_. If it were even possible, Marc was even more wracked with guilt than he had been right after he’d done what he’d done. Too ashamed and too afraid that he couldn’t possibly react neutrally to that, he cleared his throat, decided to go for that age-old tactic: complete avoidance. “It’s not because of that. I was stupid and fucked this girl that I don’t even like, that I can’t even stand actually-“

“She’s not pregnant, is she?” _Tell me she’s not pregnant_.

That would be just his luck. “Fuck no. Thank god. I can’t even fucking think about that. No, she’s just very into me and I’m trying to let her know I’m not into her but short of saying ‘I like dick’…”

Coughing at that, Dani kept his eyes firmly fixed on the road, really wishing that he hadn’t asked. This was dangerous territory- though, he supposed, _all_ territory was dangerous when it came to Marc Marquez. “So you just decided to get shit-faced instead?”

“Well, no but- well, yeah I suppose. Kinda. But I really was celebrating, two race wins in a row.”

All Dani could manage was a tight smile as he took the righthand turn. He wanted to congratulate the younger man, to tell him he was proud of him and that he was glad that he hadn’t killed himself, but that certainly would have been taken the wrong way and he was on thin ice as it was.

Through hazy eyes, fatigue creeping up on him now that he was sitting there and not downing more alcohol, Marc watched until he was sure that the road didn’t look familiar (not that he’d told him exactly where he lived anyway) before relaxing and letting his head fall back against the headrest.

Not another word was spoken for the rest of the drive.

*

Marc had chills.

He couldn’t speak, even if he wanted to, as he stepped inside Dani’s apartment, watching as the older man turned on the lights and opened a floodgate of memories that were somehow even more potent than they were before. God, the last time he’d been there things had been so much simpler, and Marc found it hard to recognise the person he’d been that night with Dani, when they were just Dani and Marc, not student and teacher. So frozen was he that the other man had to urge him forward so that he could close the door, not that Marc could blame him for wanting all of this to happen without anyone else bearing witness.

“Are you all right?”

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Fine.”

“Okay. Good,” was he trying to convince himself or Marc? “You hungry?”

_I don’t think I’ll ever eat again_. “No, I’m fine.”

“Right. Then I think it’s best if we just go to sleep, if that’s okay with you?”

No time for anything to happen then, smart. Awkwardly shifting his weight from one leg to the other, Marc nodded, eyes trailing over the open-plan space. Had it really been that long ago that he’d sat at that counter and eaten the waffles that Dani had graciously prepared for him in as a post-coital offering? “Yeah, sure.”

Watching the younger man make his way into the living area, Dani frowned. “Where are you going?”

“To sleep?”

_What the fuck am I doing?_ “I’m not going to make you sleep on the couch.”

Of all the things in the world that could have escaped Dani’s mouth at that moment, _that_ was the last that Marc would have ever expected, throwing him completely. Feeling rather unsteady, he blinked momentarily, fearing for his cardiac health. “You mean-“

_Oh. OH. Fuck._ Feeling like the biggest asshole in the world, Dani awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. You can take the bed, I’ll take the couch. God knows I fall asleep on it often enough anyway.”

_Stupid, stupid, stupid._ Cheeks now flaming, Marc seriously considered throwing himself off the balcony. Of course Dani didn’t mean for them to both sleep in the same bed, god only knows how much of a disaster that would prove to be and Marc was sure he wouldn’t get a wink of sleep anyway. Still, it stung. “I’ll take the couch, I’ve already put you through enough bother.” Tonight and over the past few months.

“We can argue about this all we want but I’m not going to change my mind,” Dani smiled softly, “Unless, you’re uncomfortable being there?”

“You know I’m not.” _Am I?_

“Come on, then. You need to get some sleep so that maybe you won’t have the hangover of a lifetime in the morning. You go ahead, I’m just going to grab you a glass of water and some painkillers for when you wake up in the morning in agony.”

“I’m young, I’m not supposed to get hangovers.”

Dani muttered something as he walked away that sounded strangely like ‘don’t remind me’.

 

If stepping foot inside the apartment had been odd, being in Dani’s room once again was the oddest feeling he’d ever experienced in his entire life. The sheets were different, but Marc slowly extended his hand and pressed down on the duvet, stomach twisting when it flattened beneath his touch. _Fucking goose feather._ He’d been warm, that was undeniable, but Marc wasn’t sure how Dani put up with being stabbed every night in his sleep. Maybe he was too young yet to appreciate the finer things in life.

He was just about to turn his attention away from the bed when a sudden movement beneath the covers caused him to jump about a foot into the air. “Dani! There’s something in your bed!”

More than a little bit amused by the situation, the older man walked into the room with a glass in hand and a box of paracetamol in the other just in time to see his puppy’s head pop out from underneath the duvet. His heart melted at the sight and he placed the things he had been holding onto the nearby dresser. “That’s just Snoopy. I keep telling her she’s not supposed to be on the bed but she likes burrowing in under the covers.” Wagging her tiny tail at the return of her owner, Snoopy bounded to the end of the bed, paws coming to rest on Dani’s thighs. “Hey princess,” he scooped her up into his arms, allowing her to lick his cheek with her small pink tongue, “did you miss me?”

Marc, who could have never in a million years anticipated this turn of events, stood there in complete surprise as the beagle puppy turned her attention to the unfamiliar person in her owner’s bedroom. Reluctantly, he reached out and ghosted a finger over the top of her head, Snoopy brushed her snout against his palm and, okay, maybe it was the cutest thing he’d ever seen in his entire life. “You got a dog?”

“She was a gift. An unwanted gift at first, but I couldn’t imagine living without her now.”

_This is too much. This is way too much. How dare you own an adorable puppy who sleeps in your bed, the bed I once slept in with you._ “She’s so cute.”

“She uses it to her advantage. Hence the sleeping in the bed. I told her the first night that she was here that it was a one-time thing, but she hasn’t listened. Speaking of which, she’s probably going to insist on staying in here tonight, even with you in the bed. Is that okay?”

It was certainly the most bizarre night Marc had had in a while. As if he could say no to those eyes…

And Snoopy’s were nice too.

“That’s fine. I’m sure I won’t mind too much.”

Cuddling the dog to his chest, Dani smiled completely genuinely for the first time that night. “Good. You get yourself into bed, I’m just going to take her to the bathroom and get her some water. Be back soon.”

Watching him leave, Marc waited until he could no longer hear his footsteps before letting out a low while and falling back onto the bed. Yep, he’d completely shot himself in the foot with this. Couldn’t have just stayed in like a good boy, no, he had to go and make a complete idiot of himself. And now he was paying dearly for that mistake.

He lay there for a minute, wallowing in self-pity, before he realised that there was a finite amount of time until Dani returned and that it was better for all involved that he be undressed and in bed by the time that happened. So he pulled himself up once again, kicking off his shoes and depositing them neatly next to the wall, so unlike last time, before ridding himself of his jeans and socks but keeping on his shirt. Marc used the bathroom next, switching all the lights off afterwards and hesitantly crawling under the covers.

A Dani-sized gap on the other side was intentionally left.

Despite his earlier fears, being back in that bed did not feel painful, but rather like a warm hug. As if it was his rightful place. Even though he knew very well it wasn’t, Marc snuggled into the pillow, breathing in Dani’s scent, and for a little while allowed himself to pretend that it was. Sleep was hard to fight, and he was drifting in and out of consciousness by the time Dani returned, dog in tow. The older man lifted the still-too-small-to-jump puppy up onto the bed, surprising Marc by perching beside her and, by extension, beside him. Marc was sure that Dani felt that familiar charge that flowed between the both of them but, if he did, he certainly didn’t say anything.

Would he stay? Marc was sure he wouldn’t, but that didn’t stop him hoping against hope. Even if for just a little while.

God only knows how long had passed before Marc was brave enough to breach the silence, too close to succumbing to fatigue and fearing that the other man would disappear at any moment, one way or another. “Dani?”

“Hmm?”

_You’re still here_. “Is it better to speak, or die?”

The words were familiar, but Dani was so surprised that Marc had spoken them that he couldn’t quite place them at that moment. Still, they were like a punch to the gut. As he watched, as best he could in the darkness, Snoopy cuddle into Marc’s chest, it felt as if a weight was suddenly crushing his chest. His eyes began to sting, tried his best to quickly blink away the welling moisture before it fell.

If he had been waiting for an indication that he should leave, that was it.

Rising, Dani padded towards the door, towards the light that the world outside that room promised. _Turn your back on the darkness, Dani. But the best things happen in the dark._ He paused momentarily, contemplating the question over and over again.

“Neither.”

_I should say die, but I would be lying._


	17. Beginning and Ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hides*

The first thing Marc was aware of when he woke was that his mouth was as dry as the desert. Swallowing a couple of times, he scrunched up his face when it gave him little relief, scrubbing his eyes as if that would rid them of some of their heaviness. It was only when he spotted the glass of water and painkillers, like a beacon, on the bedside locker that Marc actually remembered that he wasn’t at home in his own bed. The dog pressed up against his back made the whole thing even more real.

He was in Dani’s bed. Cool. Great. Fine.

Except he’d kinda made an idiot of himself the previous night, probably on multiple occasions. Groaning, he twisted so that his face was pressed into the pillow. It was almost laughable how different waking up in this bed was this time in comparison to last time; then he had to woken up to Dani wrapped around him, or vice versa, now he was replaced by a beagle who, despite her small size, seemed to take up the entire bed. How did Dani sleep with her every night? Marc would have gone out of his mind by now. Dani’s suddenly coming into possession of a dog confused him, and for a moment Marc let himself wonder Snoopy had been his way of replacing _him_ , although he knew deep inside that he was just being arrogant.

It quickly became evident that he had bigger problems to address than Dani’s motive in getting a dog… He was already half hard, which wasn’t exactly surprising given that this very bed had featured in two many of his fantasies since that fateful night for Marc to count. All it would take is slipping his hand into his boxers and he knew he wouldn’t last long but touching himself in Dani’s bed, especially after everything he’d done for him, seemed grossly inappropriate. _‘What did you do for the weekend?’ ‘Well, I got so pissed on Friday night that my teacher had to take me home and I begged him to take me back to his instead, which he did, and then I woke up and wanked in his bed. Oh, and did I mention I’ve had sex with this teacher before?’_

His only option, therefore, was to ignore it and pray that it went away.

Lingering only a second longer, Marc threw the covers off him, making an ‘eek’ face when Snoopy gave a surprised jump, her head popping out from beneath the covers a moment later. He scratched behind her ear as an apology, before heading for the bathroom so that he could splash some water on his face and regain some feeling of normality. The light in the bathroom felt no harsher on his eyes than it usually would, but his reflection told another story; his face was drawn, rather noticeable bags beneath his eyes, and his skin a paler colour than usual. He’d seen better days, but he’d also seen much worse.

Returning to the bedroom and quickly gathering his clothes, what little he’d taken off, Marc couldn’t help but smile when he saw that Snoopy was fully alert and ready to greet him, her little tail wagging back and forth as she galloped towards him, nuzzling his outstretched hand with her snout. Giving her a scratch behind the ear, he marvelled at how he’d fallen so completely in love with her in one night, to the point of wanting to kidnap her. But, then again, that seemed to be his thing.

Marc played with her for a couple of minutes before he decided that he should really get dressed and go and face her owner. He does just that, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before tucking the puppy beneath his arm and making the familiar journey to the living area. To his surprise, the couch showed absolutely no signs of being slept on but, then again, he supposed it was late enough in the morning that it all would have been already put away, neatly folded and returned to its designated place.

He was just beginning to fear that Dani wasn’t there at all when he finally spotted Dani standing by the kitchen sink, coffee cup in hand as he stared aimlessly out the window. “Hey.”

Almost jumping out of his skin, Dani cursed beneath his breath as the movement caused some of the liquid in his cup to spill onto his shirt. The only consolation was that it was long-past hot. “Hey. How are you feeling this morning?” Deciding it was best to keep it neutral, Dani smiled when Snoopy let out a little whine, all but begging Marc to put her down so she could greet her owner.

“Fine. Told you I would be okay.”

“Hmm, I’m still shocked to be honest. It’s not fair that you can drink like that and not feel the effects.”

He felt the effects, just not in the way that Dani might have expected. “I’m sure my time will come,” his smirk earned him an eyeroll from the older man, “Look, I can’t thank you enough for letting me stay here last night. I’m so embarrassed that it was even necessary in the first place and I’m so sorry if it feels like I manipulated you are anything…”

Dani’s grip tightened on the mug, but his face remained impassive. “You don’t have to apologise for anything. I… I shouldn’t have made it my business; it’s not like you needed the hospital or anything and with anyone else I wouldn’t have batted an eye but… I feel protective of you. Even though I know I have absolutely no right to. So _I’m_ sorry If I wasn’t fair and overstepped.”

“Oh.” Once he had realised what he was saying, Marc couldn’t stifle the laugh that escaped him, prompting Dani to look at him as if he was losing his mind. _Fucking unbelievable._ “Dani, do you actually think that you need to apologise to _me_ for caring? As if hearing that won’t make my fucking day.”

He didn’t exactly mean for the words to come out like that but, once they did, there was absolutely no taking them back. Marc could only swallow, watching as Dani flinched slightly before slowly placing his coffee cup down on the counter, the sound of porcelain against granite magnified a thousand times in the otherwise silent room. The biology teacher’s mouth opened and closed several times and, not for the first time, Marc knew that he had blown it.

 _Stupid, stupid,_ stupid _._

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” cursing under his breath, Marc pressed the heal of his hand against his eye, “I keep doing this. I’m just going to go and leave you alone, I’m so so sorry.”

“Marc-“

“I am such an idiot-“

“ _Marc_ ,” Dani took a step closer, but remained at a safe distance, “stop freaking out. You didn’t say anything that I didn’t already know. Or could have inferred. I was just going to make some breakfast, you should stay and eat.”

The younger man grimaced, trying to ignore the flip his stomach did. “I’m not sure it’s wise for me to eat anything at the moment.” Anticipating the smart comment from Dani, Marc pre-empted it by rolling his eyes. “You don’t have any lemons, do you?”

“What could you possibly need a lemon for? Are you planning on doing tequila shots for a cure?”

“First of all: tequila shots are done with _lime_ and, second: I always drink a glass of water with lemon in it the morning after I’ve been drinking. It helps with the metabolism and makes me feel a little bit better, you know, being a professional athlete and everything…”

Not going to argue with that one, Dani let out a chuckle and made his way over to the fridge to check his stock of citrus fruits. Surprised to find two, he picked the most attractive one and tossed it to the younger man before fetching him a glass of water and a knife to cut it with. Hesitating before handing that last item over, Dani arched an eyebrow. “Please don’t injure yourself.”

Scoffing, Marc made a show of cutting cleanly through the lemon, holding up his hand afterwards to display his perfectly in-tact palm. “I’m not a complete disaster, you know.”

Chuckling humourlessly, he decided to let that one go, taking the knife over to the sink so that he could run it under the tap. For the second time in less than ten minutes, Dani once again jumped out of his skin, this time when Marc let out a little screech. Turning, Dani expected to see the younger man minus a finger before he remembered than _he_ was holding the knife in his hand and felt instantly better. Eyebrows practically disappearing above his hairline at the sight of the younger man with his hand pressed firmly against his left eye, Dani couldn’t help but smirk. “What did you do?”

“A litre of fucking juice just squirted into my eye, it stings so bad.”

Unable to keep from laughing, especially at the little dance he appeared to be doing, Dani shook his head. “You are a human disaster, Marc Marquez. How do they even let you on a motorcycle?”

“Reluctantly,” he admitted, rubbing furiously at his eye before trying to open it again, making the funniest face Dani has ever seen in his life, “I think there’s pulp in it too.”

The teacher rolled his eyes at that and, against his better judgement, took a step closer, batting the younger man’s hand away. Tentatively, he placed his hands on Marc’s face, feeling him go completely still beneath his touch. The significance wasn’t lost on him- it was the first time since they’d spent the night together that Dani had touched him and, as much as he hated to admit, it became a little harder to breathe as he gently examined Marc’s eye for a little longer than was strictly necessary.

“I think you’re okay,” he finally said, voice unsteady, not moving an inch. He wasn’t sure if he just didn’t want to or was physically incapable of taking a step in any direction but closer to Marc, but it didn’t matter. They remained there for what felt like hours, just breathing, before something changed. The charge that always seemed to be between them changed palpably, and Marc’s eyes instinctively closed, any injury long forgotten, as he felt Dani move closer until their lips were touching.

It felt as if Marc had been resurrected from a ten-year sleep, the jolt that shot through him at that, something in his stomach tightening, was almost _painful_. But then he supposed that that was what months of supressed sexual tension got you. It wasn’t much of a kiss, just testing the waters, but it was _everything_ at the same time. Eventually, Marc decided that it just wasn’t enough and it was a quick progression from ghosting his tongue across Dani’s lower lip to properly kissing- laboured breathing, full on kissing.

Marc found the courage to wrap his arms around Dani’s back, pulling the older man as close to him as possible, and the hardness that he’d managed to ignore into non-existence not half an hour previous was back with a vengeance. It felt as if he’d been doused in oil and set on fire, and it was the closest thing to heaven Marc had ever felt in his entire life.

Dani’s hesitancy was still there, but both could feel his last couple of ounces of willpower melting away, resignation taking their place. _We were meant to be like this, you and I. I’ve never found someone that I fit so perfectly with._ But every second felt like borrowed time and Marc couldn’t help but wait for the moment when he would find himself pushed away, the moment when they would have to go their separate ways forever.

It didn’t come.

Instead, Dani pulled back ever so slightly when he could hardly breathe. He knew full well that it was wrong, but he was just _too far gone_. Exhaling a shaky breath, the older man rested his forehead against Marc’s, eyes squeezed tightly shut. “I’m so tired, Marc. Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to be in the same room as you almost every day? I deserve some kind of medal for keeping my hands off of you until now.”

“You can have whatever medal you want,” Marc sighed, unable to believe that this was real, “Anything you want.”

That statement went right to Dani’s groin. This should not be happening, he should be telling him to leave and never come back. And yet… “I need you to expressly tell me that you want this. I shouldn’t lay a hand on you at all, but if you truly want it…”

“I want it. I’ve wanted it every day for so long. I think I’ll die if you don’t give it to me now.”

“I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t have approached you, I shouldn’t have taken you here, I shouldn’t have kissed you. It’s completely wrong. If they found out… I’d lose my job,” there was a very big difference between sleeping with a student _before_ he knew he was his teacher and sleeping with that same student _after_ he knew that he was his student, “And you… well, I don’t know but I can’t imagine it would be pleasant.”

 _Don’t._ “I don’t care. I want you, Dani- I _need_ you. _Please_.”

From the moment he took the turn off for his place last night instead of taking the other for Marc’s, Dani knew deep down that this was going to happen. And if it weren’t for his offer of breakfast, he might have succeeded in preventing it.

_Left for heaven, right for hell. Or maybe it’s the other way around…_

“Okay. Okay,” kiss, “okay,” another, “ _okay_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _You were once running wild, hiding in the morning mist..._   
>  _Game demands I make you mine._   
>  _I thought that I could resist but the leopard in you_   
>  _Silently preyed on me._


	18. Save it 'Til the Morning After...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long! This chapter was hard work... ;)

There were times in his life where Marc felt like he was on the outside looking in…

This was not one of those times.

Clinging to Dani for dear life as they kissed like he’d never kissed before, Marc was afraid to loosen his grip for even a second, just in case the other man changed his mind and tried to escape. He didn’t. There was an intensity in him, as he bundled Marc back into the bedroom, that Marc had never seen before- as if Dani were suffocating and he was the only source of air. The shirt that he had put on not fifteen minutes previous found its way back to the floor once again, Dani’s soon joining it, and there was a brief lull when the older man, breathing heavily, greedily took in the sight of shirtless Marc. The weight of his stare prompted Marc to look away, unable to comprehend why he was feeling bashful _now_ when he’d been thinking about being in this position again for so long now.

Before he knew it, there was a firm hand on his jaw and he was looking at Dani again, hesitation creeping into his lust-filled eyes. “Marc, are you sure that you want to do this? We can stop.”

“You look at me like I’m the answer to all your prayers.”

Cocking his head, a smile tugged at the corner of Dani’s mouth as he studied the younger man, confusion on his face as he gently played with the hair at the nape of Dani’s neck. “You’re not the answer to my prayers. I would never pray for this.” That confusion turned to embarrassment and Dani knew that he had to continue before Marc got the wrong idea. “But there’s no one else on the planet that I would do this with, that I would risk everything for.”

Unable to think of anything to say to that that wouldn’t be _too_ much, Marc wasted no time in pressing his lips against Dani’s once again, letting _that_ do the talking instead. The message was very clearly received. Sinking down onto the bed, he took a moment to wrap his arms around Dani’s abdomen, heading coming to rest against his chest as he strained to hear his heartbeat. A hand gently brushed through his hair and Marc rolled his neck so that his chin was pressed against Dani’s skin, chocolate eyes meeting warm mocha in a look that said so much that it startled him. With his other hand, Dani softly traced Marc’s lips with his thumb, those lips that had haunted him for too many weeks now.

If he had to, Dani would have been content just looking at Marc like this for the rest of his life, so open and truthful and full of wonder. But he didn’t have to, and so he dipped his head and tried his very best to steal the air from the younger man’s lungs, pressing him further and further back until the duvet threatened to swallow him. Chuckling lowly, Dani thought that he might have to look into getting a new one if this was going to be happening on a fairly regular basis, Marc’s hatred of the cover making him smile into the kiss.

 _I love you, I love you, I love you_.

Marc shivered as the other man’s nails ghosted against his side, goose bumps raising across his skin, and he arched his hips involuntarily, taking Dani off guard if the way he buried his face in Marc’s neck was anything to go by.

“You were put on this planet to torment me.”

“It’s only torment if you can’t do anything about it.”

He wasn’t wrong. Pulling back so that he could press his lips against one of Marc’s nipples, Dani reached down and popped the button of his jeans, the sound of the zipper masked by one of the younger man’s moans. _If I hadn’t met you that night would you have ever looked at me like this? Would you just be another face in a classroom of people I’ll probably forget existed in a year or two?_ Somehow, he knew what the answers to both of those questions were. With a low command of ‘up’, Marc lifted his hips and allowed him to pull off both his pants and boxers, discarding them without a second thought. What was underneath was the only thing he was interested in right now.

Despite being completely naked and at the older man’s mercy, Marc didn’t feel one bit shy, thinking it impossible when he saw the hungry gaze in Dani’s eyes as he sized him up, trailing kisses over his stomach and gradually getting lower until they lingered just out of reach of anything really good. He couldn’t help the frustrated growl that escaped him, almost wanting to push Dani’s head those last couple of centimetres himself. Mercifully, he took the hint, hot breath making Marc’s head a little fuzzy before fuzziness gave way to another feeling entirely as Dani gently nudged at him and took him in his mouth.

Fists balling in the duvet, Marc hadn’t the mind to care when a fucking feather stabbed him, needing to hold onto something to keep from losing his mind completely and getting a little too rough with his teacher.

His _teacher_ , _fuck_. Well, Dani was his teacher in _something_ at least, even if it wasn’t strictly academic… Pushing that thought to the back of his mind, along with the little bit of him that was even more turned on because of that fact, Marc gasped when the older man removed his mouth a gently blew on the wet and sensitive skin, causing his eyes to roll back in his head at the sensation.

“ _Dani_... Fuck, so good. So, _so_ good…”

“I need you to tell me when you think you’re going to come, okay?”

“Mmhhmm.”

“Good boy.” Those were his last words before he resumed, marvelling at the younger man’s self-control as he took him apart little by little until his skin was shiny with perspiration and his breath was ragged and rapid.

“Think ‘m gonna come…”

Yeah, Dani thought so too, and so he removed his mouth, feeling only the slightest bit bad when Marc practically screeched at the loss of contact, hands immediately reaching down for Dani’s hair. He ducked out of the way, his own cock painfully hard as he began to strip off the rest of his clothes. “Sorry, baby- I want you to be nice and sensitive when I’m inside you.”

“Sensitive?” Marc gritted his teeth, “I’m going to come the minute you put your fingers inside me.”

“I have faith in you.”

Beyond frustrated, he ignored that, throwing his head back against the covers as Dani fished around for supplies. “Where do you want me?” He asked but started to turn over onto his stomach anyway. Dani’s hand reached to stop him.

“I want you just the way you are. I’ve been looking at you for so long, but I want to _see_ you.”

Marc wanted that too, even if it was a little bit harder, biting his lip and nodding as he accepted a pillow from Dani, placing it under his hips. The older man soon settled himself between his legs, locking eyes with Marc as he flipped open the cap of the bottle of lube and poured a generous amount onto his fingers. Marc thought that he would be prepared for the feeling of Dani pressing against him again but, in reality, he was far from it, a desperate sob of relief almost escaping him when breached him with just one finger, giving him something that he’d been craving like heroin for weeks now, the drought seemingly never-ending.

The reaction of the younger man making him smile despite the significance of it weighing heavily on his chest, Dani changed his position so that he was lying with his stomach against Marc’s side, propping himself up on his elbow that he could kiss him and work him open at the same time. He’d had sex many times in his twenty-five years, but nothing- _nothing_ \- had ever felt quite so intimate. Far from understanding why, all Dani knew was that, for some reason, the man beneath him felt so much a part of him that he was like an extension of Dani’s own soul, leaving him feeling winded but in the most pleasant way possible.

“Dani.”

“ _Marc_.”

Kiss broken, Dani opened his eyes to seek Marc’s boring into him with an intensity that shook him to his very core, leaving him wondering how someone could possibly say so much without saying anything. Corner of his mouth tugging upwards in a half-smirk, he added another finger, relishing the change in the younger man’s expression as a simple ‘please’ fell from his lips. Long past denying him anything, Dani merely nodded, placing one last kiss against Marc’s nose before moving back onto his knees.

He picked up the condom he’d left on the covers next to the bottle of lube, cock twitching when Marc told him not to, that he wanted to feel him completely. Although there was nothing he would want more than leaving Marc leaking with his come, marking him as _his_ , Dani knew that he could never do that to him. Even though he was 99 percent sure that he was clean, he didn’t want to have to tell Marc _now_ that he had been with someone else since they’d last been together. Knowing that the younger man wouldn’t mind so much once he was finally inside him, Dani rolled the condom on, positioning himself so that his tip was barely brushing Marc, the whine that elicited making him chuckle to himself.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Marc actually growled. “I am one hundred percent sure, do you want me to sign something fir- _FUCK_.”

 _That’s what you get for being smart_ , Dani smirked, enjoying the look of surprise mixed with pleasure on Marc’s face as he suddenly pushed inside him, not quick enough to hurt him but fast enough that the sudden onslaught of sensation caught him beautifully off guard. He stilled for a moment to allow him time to adjust, waiting until Marc bucked against him to start thrusting. The temptation to fuck him until he couldn’t walk took over, trumping his previous desire to take it slow and make love to him, taking it as challenge to see how quickly he could make Marc cry out his name.

It didn’t take long.

When Dani hit that spot inside him that had him seeing stars, Marc wailed, his fingernails digging so hard into Dani’s back that he would be surprised if he didn’t draw blood. Unfortunately for the older man, he didn’t much have the mind to care, the older man’s thrusts unrelenting, hitting hit _right there_ more often than not. “Dani, Dani, Dani, _Dani_.”

“I’ve got you, baby,” he assured him with a smile, capturing Marc’s next moan in a kiss that was a bit too much teeth but both far from caring, a little adjustment improving it hugely. Almost biting through Dani’s lip when the older man delivered another thrust, Marc was only vaguely aware of the taste of blood in his mouth, tracing the source with his tongue in an attempt to soothe it.

“Close… _Please_ don’t stop again.”

He had absolutely no intention of doing so, pushing through the slight burn of his muscles as he tried his best to pick up the pace even more, knowing that the ache afterwards would be so worth it. Reaching down, Dani tugged on Marc’s cock in time with his thrusts, sending the younger man into sensory overload that had him clenching suddenly around Dani, the pressure and feeling of Marc spilling into his hand finally pushing him over the edge. Crying out as he came as hard as he could ever remember, he squeezed his eyes shut and let the feeling wash over him as he rode it out before all but collapsing on the younger man, face buried in Marc’s stomach.

All but completely boneless at this stage, Marc managed to lift his hand and comb it through Dani’s hair, pushing it back out of his face. “I’ve never felt anything like that in my entire life.”

“Me neither,” the words muffled against the taught skin of Marc’s abdomen, Dani raised his head and met the younger man’s eye. If a picture was worth a thousand words, then a look was worth a hundred thousand. The most startling thing, however, was that it felt like this was an inevitability the whole time, no matter how much he tried to convince himself, and his brother, otherwise. But what would happen now was a story for another day- or another time at least- pulling out and haphazardly discarding the condom before crawling up the bed to tuck himself against Marc’s side.

With the younger man’s head on his chest, Dani slept better than he had done in months.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _And you wanted to dance so I asked you to dance_   
>  _But fear was in your soul_   
>  _Some people call it a one night stand_   
>  _but we can call it paradise._   
>  _Don't say a prayer for me now,_   
>  _Save it 'til the morning after..._


	19. The Touch of Your Hand (Behind a Closed Door)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so so happy that you liked the last chapter! Here's another as a thank you ♥

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Alex stretched before reaching out for his phone on the bedside locker, as per his morning routine. He had a text from Tito, which wasn't entirely out of the ordinary, but his face contorted into a frown when he read it.

Tito: Hey, know you're probably asleep but I just wanted to check if Marc got home safely...

Alex: I thought he was staying with you?

Tito: He was meant to be but he got absolutely pissed and got a lift home instead

Alex: Oh okay. If he was that bad then he probably won't surface until the afternoon but I’ll let you know when he does

Tito: Cheers. How are you feeling?

Alex: Good, still on the ibuprofen but I'll get over in a day or two more ;)

 

Finally hauling himself out of bed, he pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of tracksuit pants, the smell of food of some sort being cooked downstairs enough to entice him to make a move. Alex walked past Marc's room on the way down and was tempted to stick his head in, but the door was closed and he certainly didn't want to have to deal with a hungover and prematurely woken Marc Marquez. Instead, he went straight for the kitchen, smiling when his mother greeted him with a kiss on the cheek, mumbling about how soon he would be too tall for her to reach.

“That's what Marc is for.”

“Yes, that is his only use,” his father laughed, earning a very cold look from his wife.

“He's got plenty of uses.”

“Not at the moment he hasn't,” Alex argued as he gingerly pulled himself up onto one of the stools, making a face when he realised that he might have said a little too much, “Er, I mean he's very tired and probably needs to catch up on some sleep.”

 _Nice try, sweetheart. You think we don't know what you boys get up to?_ “I thought Marc was staying at Tito's?”

“He decided to come home instead.”

Looking pleased by that, his father began to dish up eggs onto three plates. “We probably won't be here when he finally decides to rejoin the land of the living. We're going in towards Barcelona if you want to come?”

He might have, if he hadn't told Tito he'd make sure Marc was okay. And if he wasn't a little bit interested in hearing what had happened... “Nah, it's okay thanks. I'm probably going to meet up with the lads.”

They accepted that excuse, not entirely unprecedented, and the topic of conversation changed to something else completely. Alex focused on shovelling his food into him as quickly as he could, his metabolism so fast that he was always hungry, and intermittently sipped on his cup of coffee. Once he was finished he got up to put his dishes in the machine, his mother trying to stop him as she had done ever since his crash at the last race. At this stage, he was beginning to feel a bit bad about it and insisted, piling up all three plates and coming back for the rest.

His parents didn't hang around for long afterwards, gone by the time Alex got out of the shower, leaving him with peace and quiet that he rarely got. Especially when Marc was around. Collapsing on the couch, he turned on the tv and flicked through the channels for about twenty minutes before settling on a movie that he'd seen about twenty times before but still laughed at all the jokes.

One o’clock came and went and there was still no sign of Marc. As did two o’clock.

It wasn’t until Alex received another text from Tito close to 2.30 that he really began to get concerned.

Tito: No sign of him yet?

Alex: None. Are you sure he came home?

A couple of minutes went by, Alex no longer watching the movie but staring at his phone expectantly, before the next reply came.

Tito: I’m not entirely sure, that’s why I’m so eager to see

Thoroughly confused, his stomach sank, though for what reason he couldn’t quite tell. Something was wrong, he just didn’t know what yet.

Alex: Who brought him home?

Tito: Go check and see if he’s there and then we’ll know

That was a cop out if ever Alex heard one, but he knew that there was no point getting panicked until he knew for sure that his brother was actually missing in action and not suffering with the world’s worst hangover. Keeping his phone in hand, Alex jogged up the stairs, not stopping until he was standing outside Marc’s room. He pressed his ear against the door, straining to pick up any sound, knot in his stomach tightening when he heard nothing. Deciding he needed to know for sure, Alex pushed the door open and wasn’t at all surprised to find Marc’s bed empty and unslept in. “What did you do…”

Alex: He’s not here so you better get explaining

There was another lull before his phone started to ring, Alex answering as fast as he could.

“What’s going on?”

_“Okay, so we have a problem…”_

*

Marc drifted in and out of consciousness the entire time he was pressed against Dani. It was the happiest he’d felt in as long as he could remember, especially when he looked over and saw the man who was sleeping deeply in the bed beside him. Dani looked completely at peace, more so than Marc had ever seen him, and it made him so content and safe to see him so unguarded.

Unfortunately, as time went by he became more and more aware of his need to get up, waiting until it was completely urgent to extract himself as carefully as possible from the older man’s grips. Hurrying to the bathroom, he lingered no longer than was necessary before returning, climbing under the covers this time and disturbing a sleeping Snoopy that he hadn’t even realised was there. Marc was just about to resume his cuddling when he spotted his phone on the bedside locker, having left it there when he’d gone in search of Dani the first time. Picking it up, he frowned but wasn’t surprised to see that he had a number of missed calls from his brother. His stomach dropping, Marc bit on his lip as he typed out a message.

Marc: What’s up?

Alex: Finally!

Alex: What’s up? Are you kidding me? Where are you?

Marc: It’s like 3pm, why are you freaking out?

Alex: Tito told me you didn’t stay at his last night

Alex: Are you with him?

_I take it by him you mean our biology teacher._

Marc: Yes, I’m at his because I forgot my keys and couldn’t get in. Don’t do anything stupid, I’ll be home in the next hour.

Alex: I can’t believe YOU’RE telling ME not to do anything stupid right now

Alex: Mom and dad aren’t here at the moment so you might want to get home before they do because they think you’ve been in your bed all night

He was angry, and not in a way Marc had ever seen before. Even from the texts alone, he could picture the disappointed look on his brother’s face and hated that he would have to return home, leaving Dani and going back into the real world. The idea scared him more than he would have liked to admit. Swallowing hard, Marc typed out several replies before deciding on one that was adequate and didn’t say too much.

Marc: I’m sorry you were worried, I’ll see you soon

“Dani,” although he hated to do it, Marc nudged the other man softly, heart fluttering when he stirred and nuzzled his neck before going back to sleep again. _Ugh, not the time for adorableness._ “Baby,” he said a little louder, using a little more force this time. Snoopy obviously decided that she was going to help him, wagging her tail as she popped up and stuck her wet nose against her owner’s cheek.

“Aghhh! Snoops leave Daddy alone, he’s tired.”

Unable to keep from smirking at the fact that Dani referred to himself as ‘Daddy’ when speaking to his dog (which he _definitely_ was not going to let him forget), Marc chuckled, even more so when the older man jumped at the sound. “So does that mean I’m ‘Mommy?’”

“Fuck off,” Dani groaned, scrubbing his face before his eyes opened enough to see him, “So that actually happened…”

 _It HAPPENED_. “It did and it was amazing and as much I would love to stay here with you for the rest of my life I have to get home before Alex sends out a search party for me.”

“That sounds familiar.”

Grinning at the fact that _Dani_ was actually making jokes and not freaking the fuck out, Marc pressed a kiss against his nose, just as the other man had done to him a couple of hours ago. “All of this is familiar. And amazing. But please get up.”

Dani rolled his eyes at that before nodding, propping himself up onto his elbow as a start. “Your morning after talk is awful. Although I should be grateful that you didn’t laugh at my love-making skills this time.”

“It wasn’t your _love-making_ skills that I was laughing at. And I certainly wasn’t laughing this time. Think I might have cried a little bit though, it was that good.”

“You flatter me,” Dani chuckled, leaning in for another, albeit brief this time, kiss, “I suppose we need to talk.”

 _Right, as much as I don’t want to._ “We do. But can we talk in the car? I need to get home and get this sorted out. Alex is home alone so there’s no chance of anyone overhearing.”

That concerned Dani, but he decided that now wasn’t exactly the best time to bring it up, merely nodding before he managed to haul himself up out of beg, grabbing some clothes from the dresser to throw on quickly. “So I made you cry?”

“Cry? You might have to carry me down the stairs. I might not make it.”

“Good.” That earned him a pillow to the face.

*

“So…”

Oh, how he hated that word. “So.”

Stopping at a set of traffic lights, Dani sighed, looking over at his passenger for a minute. “Is there any point in my saying that this isn’t going to happen again?”

Marc released a breath that he hadn’t even known that he’d been holding, relieved- at least- that the older man seemed to be as resigned to this as he was. “Not at all. I think we’ve both seen where avoiding whatever’s there between us leads.”

“I need to quit.”

 _Wait, WHAT_. “Quit?” his eyebrows raised in horror, “you are _not_ quitting.”

“What else can I do? I want you too much to walk away again.”

 _No, no, no._ “Pull over.”

“What?”

“You need to pull over somewhere.”

Perplexed, Dani did as he was told at the first opportunity, putting on his hazards before turning to face the younger man. He was almost afraid of what he would see when he did. The conversation was obviously serious enough to warrant Marc removing his belt, and for a moment Dani worried that he was going to get out. “Okay-“

“You cannot resign, Dani. You just _cannot_.”

“I could get another job-“

“You could, we could be together. But what happens if it gets out that your boyfriend is one of your former students? That you left your job after only a couple of months so that you could get him in bed? Before you say anything, I know that’s not what this is but other people don’t.”

Growing more frustrated by the minute, Dani ran a hand through his hair. “What am I supposed to do then? Continue teaching you even though I’m fucking you?” He chuckled humourlessly, the sound dying in his throat when he saw the look on the younger man’s face. “Oh my god.”

“I won’t be there forever. Fuck, I’m hardly there at all as it is. It’s the beginning of November now, in little over a month it will be Christmas break, then pre-season testing is going to happen, then the season starts again… Before we know it, I’ll be gone and you’ll still have your job. You can breathe a sigh of relief.”

It was madness. But if it was, why was he considering it? “So, what? We’d just continue as if nothing has changed? As if we weren’t teacher and student in school and in a relationship outside it?”

Marc bit his lip, looking away for a moment. “I’m on the verge of getting a MotoGP ride. I’m probably going to have one last season in Moto2 and then I’ll likely be moving up. I couldn’t be public with you anyway- I can’t be public with _anyone_ and I hate but… it is what it is. I couldn’t live with myself if you gave up your job and we still had to hide our relationship.”

Well, if that didn’t throw him completely. Dani had never seen the younger man quite like this, looking so scared and lost, and he couldn’t exactly blame him. Because no one had ever really cared that much about his sexuality, he hadn’t really spared a thought to what all of this would be like for Marc, especially when he had such a bright future ahead that could very easily- and very unfairly- be ruined because of something like this. Something that really didn’t matter in the slightest, and certainly didn’t have any impact on how he rode a motorcycle.

Feeling incredibly guilty, Dani reached out and tightly grasped Marc’s hand, giving him a sad smile. “I’ll do whatever you want. But if you want to keep this a secret then we have to be extremely careful. We can’t speak to each other in school unless it’s school-related. School grounds are strictly off-limits in every way, shape and form. In fact, _everywhere_ except my apartment is off limits. If you can live with that…”

“I can live with that,” Marc grinned, perking up instantly, “I can absolutely live with that. Thank you,” he said, meaning it completely, and leaned forward to press his lips against Dani’s, the older man kissing him back briefly before pulling away again.

“You do know that this car is included in ‘everywhere’.”

“Well, if someone we know sees us in the car together the game is a good as up anyway.”

“Marc…”

He knew his mistake the minute the words had left his mouth. “It’s okay, just bad phrasing. I know it’s the furthest thing from a game possible. And I want you to know that I’m completely serious about this; I know I haven’t got as much to lose as you have, but I still have _a lot_ to lose. It’s not forever. I will come out some day when I’m world champion and when you’ve not been my teacher for longer than you were, and no one cares. Well, they don’t care as much.”

 _Wow, you’re really thinking that far ahead. As if the secrecy won’t ruin us along the way._ But it was a pretty picture, undeniably, and Dani couldn’t help but buy into it all. “Okay.”

_There’s so much more that can go wrong, but that’s a problem for another day._


	20. Who Has to Know?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the absence! I'm trying to get back into the swing of things ♥

“Wait.”

Marc had just swung the door open to get out when Dani’s hand wrapped around his wrist, instantly turning his attention back to the other man. “Hmm?”

 _Can’t believe I’m saying this, but…_ “We should probably swap numbers again.”

 _Yeah, about that…_ Making an eek face, he decided to break out his best puppy dog eyes as he chuckled nervously. “Er, well I kinda never deleted your number,” _don’t look at me like that_ , “I _know_. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, it felt too like deleting the last bit of you so I just saved it under a different name instead. So I’ll just text you in a bit and you’ll have mine again.”

This guy was going to be the end of him, Dani knew that for sure. So why couldn’t he bring himself to walk away? “Go,” he urged him, rolling his eyes, “text me and let me know how it goes.”

“’Kay. Later, babe.” Climbing out and swinging the door shut, Marc looked around briefly to make sure there had been no one watching as Dani pulled away. Satisfied that there wasn’t a soul in sight, he drew a deep breath, not looking forward to going inside but knowing that he had to face up to this. It surprised him that Alex wasn’t waiting right behind the door for him, staring pointedly at his watch to mark his displeasure. Quite childishly, Marc purposely made as little noise as possible in the hope that his brother wouldn’t hear him, though it was highly unlikely that he hadn’t been watching them out of the front window.

“He returns.”

“Fuck! Don’t do that!” No apology, though Marc hadn’t exactly expected one. “Mom and dad still out?”

 _Stop trying to skirt around this_. Alex nodded, arms folded across his chest, and followed his brother into the kitchen, wondering how he could be so nonchalant. “Yeah, they are. Which gives us _plenty_ of time to discuss how much of an idiot you are. What the fuck were you thinking Marc? Going home with him? Spending the night at his? _AGAIN_.”

“I didn’t fucking plan on it,” he fumed, grabbing an apple out of the fruit bowl when his stomach growled, realising that he’d never had breakfast in all the excitement, “I got too drunk, he offered to drive me home and then I realised that I hadn’t got keys so I had to go back to his.”

“Sounds awfully convenient. He’s obviously not as honourable as you like to think since he told Tito that he wouldn’t touch you while you were in that state. Bet he was only too happy with that turn of events…”

Blood beginning to boil in a way that it rarely did when it came to his brother, Marc clenched his teeth. “Shut the fuck up. I slept in his bed and he slept on the couch. He would _never_ touch me when he thought I wasn’t in a state to agree to it, stop making him out to be some kind of sexual predator.” Without thinking, he pulled himself up on one of the bar stools and instantly regretted it, almost jumping back off again when a dull pain shot through him. _Fuck, Dani…_

Alex, of course, caught that, shooting him a scathing look that could have killed him ten times over. “It really looks like he didn’t lay a hand on you. You can barely walk straight.”

Marc’s cheeks turned a bright shade of pink, a mixture of mortification and fury. _Can we please stop discussing my sex life??_ “Yes, he fucked me, okay? But it didn’t happen until this morning when I knew _exactly_ what I was doing. I wouldn’t expect you to understand, it was never a choice for either of us. With Dani and I- fuck, I don’t know but it feels like I’m on fire every time I’m near him. As much as I tried to fight it I’m completely in love with him and staying away from him physically _hurt_.”

Unable to believe what he was hearing, Alex shook his head to himself. They’d tried so hard to prevent this from happening for so long now, he just couldn’t believe that Marc would fall back into bed with him at the first opportunity. Actually, he could; Marc was eighteen years old and fancied himself in love for the first time, so his enthusiasm was understandable. Dani, on the other hand… he was almost ten years Marc’s senior and, categorically, should have known better. To be in his position, a position of trust and responsibility, and allow this to continue was just unfathomable to him. “Marc, he’s your _teacher_. You need to put a stop to this now, before it ruins the both of you. If anyone finds out about what you two are doing, he’ll never be allowed teach again and you… being a gay rider is one thing, being a gay rider who has a sexual relationship with his teacher will be the end of your career.”

“I don’t have a choice, Alex. I really, really don’t. God, if you only _knew_ how much I love him. I know this shouldn’t be happening, but I cannot bare the thought of never feeling like this again, even if it hurts me.”

“You’ll find someone else, Marc. It’s not the end of the world.”

“Yeah, but I don’t _want_ to. I want him.”

 _Please don’t do this. Please._ “You can’t always get what you want. It’s high time that you learned that. You may have the motorcycling world at your feet now, but you’re not indestructible and this is going to come back and bite you in the ass big time, I assure you.”  

They could have argued for hours- days- about it but, ultimately, Marc knew that there was nothing he could say that would make his brother understand. He would never know until he found himself in a similar position, if ever. “It’s my life and it’s my career. I know that it’s wrong and it could end very badly but, honestly? I don’t care. And I know objectively it may seem like I’ve lost my mind- maybe I have- but he makes me happy so there’s nothing you can say that will make me change my mind. I love you, you know I do, but this is just how it is.”

All other avenues exhausted, Alex knew that he only had one card left to play: the nuclear one. “What if I told?”

“What?”

“What if I told? Mr Puig? Emilio? Mom and Dad? I’m sure they wouldn’t let it continue.”

The threat, although it made him pause, did not strike the fear into Marc that his brother likely thought it would. “You wouldn’t. And that’s not me daring you, it’s a simple fact. I know you would never do that to me.”

“You assume too much. You assume that I would rather see you destroyed than hurt you for a little while.”

Marc knew what he was doing was unfair, able to see from the younger man’s expression alone just how much of an impact it was having on him. And under any other circumstances that would have been enough for him to stop and really question what he was doing. But Marc had been through it all before, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t tried his hardest to keep from going down this road, and just didn’t see any other alternative for him.

“If that’s what you’ve decided you’re going to do then I don’t suppose there’s anything I can do to stop you. But I would prefer if you didn’t.”

 _You would-_ Absolutely sure at this point that his brother had lost the fucking plot completely, Alex’s anger morphed into something more along the lines of incredulity. “You would  _prefer_ if I didn’t? I’m pretty sure that it’s more than just a matter of preference. This is  _both_ of your careers you’re talking about!”

“What do you want me to say?! Your threats aren’t going to change my mind, so at this point you’re going to do what you’re going to do. Which is fine, but just know that that will be the end for us. I mean it, Alex. If you take him away from me then I will never speak to you again.”

Alex didn’t doubt that he one hundred percent meant it, the conviction with which the older man had uttered those words taking the wind out of his sails completely. It hurt, to hear that his own brother would rather lose him than Dani, a guy with which he would probably have a sordid affair for a couple of weeks before getting caught and landing them both in the biggest trouble of their lives. Realising there was nothing more he could do, and convincing himself that he didn’t care than much anyway, Alex merely gave a little shrug. 

“Then when it all comes out- which it will, eventually- I never knew anything about it. You’re on your own.”

A sigh of relief escaped Marc, though he knew it was inappropriate given the circumstances. He hadn’t exactly won anything, in fact the opposite was probably true, still it felt like a victory. “I’m going to be careful. _We’re_ going to be careful.”

 _Because not getting caught makes it okay._ “I’m going to ask to be changed to Chemistry on Monday. I can’t sit in his classroom and watch him do this to you. Not without eventually snapping, anyway.”

“But you like-“

“Yeah, I _liked_ Biology. Not anymore.” _Not since the guy who teaches of it went from making an innocent mistake to knowingly fucking my brother._ Shaking his head to himself, that image the last thing he wanted in his head, Alex retreated towards the door. “I hope you don’t mind being someone’s dirty little secret.”

*

Tito: Keep me updated!

Tito: Okay, this is killing me!

Tito: Alex?

Tito: What’s going on?

_(1) missed call from Tito_

Alex: He fucked him.

Alex: So all that work was for nothing,

Alex: I fucking knew this was going to happen. Why would you let him go anywhere with him? Did you not see this coming?

Tito: What was I supposed to do?? Make a scene in front of the whole bar? I warned him not to touch him, he was in not fit state to consent to anything. He’s obviously not the person I thought he was

Alex: If I was there this wouldn’t have happened. And you warning only worked as long as he remained in that state, that didn’t stop him from bending Marc over this morning.

Tito: He should have brought him home like he said he would. We could report him

Alex: Marc said he forgot his keys. And I actually believe him but that still doesn’t make it right

Alex: They’re a thing now apparently. I tried to convince him to see how idiotic and reckless he was being but he wouldn’t listen so I’ve washed my hands of it. If they get caught and ruin each other’s lives, then it’s on them

Tito: Do you think we should tell Emilio? He knows that Marc’s gay and the last thing he’ll want is for any of this to come out. He might be able to do something

He would be lying if he said he hadn’t seriously contemplated it.

Alex: I’m done trying to fix this. We did what we could to keep them apart and it didn’t work. If they wanted this then it was going to happen eventually so they can live with the consequences now.

Alex: Whatever they are…

 

 

 

 


End file.
